


Cold Steel and Warm Flesh

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M, Fighting, Guns, M/M, Murder, Organized Crime, Violence, loveandstuff, mild drug use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-21 02:25:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2451215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael Jones, a serial pyromaniac on the run since sixteen. Ryan Haywood, psychopathic tendencies bundled up into a smart mind. Gavin Free, a kleptomaniac with a flare for fancy cars and trouble. Ray Narvaez, possibly the youngest drug lord in the history of the business. Geoff and Griffon Ramsey, the unchallenged king and queen of the underground. Jack Patillo, the man with eyes all over the world. What happens when Jack hatches a plan that brings them all together? Bloodshed, romance, heists, everything could go wrong. After all, when everyone is a villain, who can you trust?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In The Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> I did a thing! So I actually really like this story, I hope you guys do too. First chapter is a bit rough. The grammar sucks less courtesy of my beta impulsivegiraffe. She's a doll. Anyway, I can't wait to tell this story, I hope you'll stick around for the ride. Feedback is always lovely! <3

If shit wasn't so fucked up, Michael wouldn't be sprinting across the county. His feet wouldn’t be drumming against pavement and asphalt and dirt, one after another. His legs and lungs wouldn’t be aching and heaving under the strain. But shit was fucked up and he was fucked up. A violent, angry, pyromaniac with a high pain tolerance and rebellious personality; he was a runner. He was somewhere in bumfuck nowhere Georgia fleeing the destruction he’d left. It hurt, it really did. His legs burned. It was worth it though. When he watched the buildings and fields and cars burn, the power high that came with that kind of recklessness washed over him and filled him with a giddy kind of happiness. Then came the running. He was always running, from the cops, the world, his family, himself. But Michael ran for the freedom most of all. He ran for the adrenaline of a siren wailing behind him. He didn’t fight and burn to cause pain. He did it because he could, because there was nothing else in this fucking wasteland of a world that could make him feel jack-shit. And Michael needed to feel, he needed to live. He needed to run.

~~~~~~~~

Gavin prowled the club, dancing up close to bodies and grinding against them, knicking things from their pockets too easy. The throbbing bass and flashing lights filled his senses. This was his favorite kind of place to slide into. Easy people with too much time and valuable jewelry on their hands free for the taking. He was getting bored though, the thrill of a steal wearing off. He downed the drink in his hand and slipped out of the door into the biting New York cold. He scanned around for a car. A pretty white sports car stood out to him and he grabbed the handgun from his waist. He used the back of it to smash open the window and jumped in. The alarm started screeching, but Gavin didn’t blink. They couldn’t hear it over the club music. He wired it quickly and sped off, leaving tire marks behind him. Gavin stole because he needed a thrill. He wanted, he took. Damn the rules. Damn the system. If he wanted to drive a stolen car sixty miles over the speed limit without a license while being a little tipsy he bloody well would. It wasn’t like he was afraid of dying. Not anymore.

~~~~~~~~

Geoff and Griffon liked to be extravagant. Smugglers usually tried to be at least a little subtle, but the couple wanted people to know how skilled and powerful they were. Hauling loads of guns, cash, alcohol and tech across borders just wasn’t the same without a fight. Two against twenty. Even odds when the two was the Ramseys. The duo were flying across Texas right now in a sleek Jaguar, depositing goodies on the doorsteps of clients. Griffon held her husband’s hand while she drove and he conversed with their next client through one of their burner phones. They fought the system because it brought them closer than they already were. Fighting hordes of enemies together was their favorite kind of date night. They loved knowing that they had the power and the skills to put up four giant middle fingers to the world and the government. They even controlled the underground world. Exterminating competition until, without the Ramseys, nobody had access to anything. 

~~~~~~~~

 

Jack lived a comfortable life. He had a nice house on a nice piece of land in a nice subdivision in a nice part of Austin. His wife was sweet and encouraging. He didn’t like to do dangerous stuff, because there was no reason to screw up the sweet setup he had going. His nights were spent behind a computer screen, hacking and blackmailing and planning. Criminals, politicians, police, banks, it didn’t matter who, Jack Patillo knew them. He was in it for the money and a little for the challenge. Nothing was better than a bank vault that just wouldn’t crack until he came up with a new solution. Sometimes, for the right amount of cash, he would suss out weaknesses for criminals and give them codes to places. Caiti could do what she wanted without worrying about money. They could live their peaceful life but still keep the excitement. It was nice to watch the world from his home. Jack needed the control. He thrived on it.

~~~~~

He studied the body carefully. The guy’s throat was purple from all of the force Ryan had put on it. He could play it off a suicide, easy. The murders sweeping across Georgia weren’t getting too much attention, mostly due to Ryan’s skills in covering it up. He murdered, yes, but it wasn’t pretty little innocent princesses. He took out his frustrations on the bad guys, only on occasion did he end up taking a good guy. He loved the power that surged through him when the struggles got weaker and the pleas got quieter. He could destroy humans with his bare hands and he thought it was rather beautiful. He recognized how psychopathic he sounded, but he wasn’t a psychopath. Psychopaths couldn’t feel, but Ryan felt everything. Happiness, crushing guilt, the whole range. The violence helped him stay sane. Killing was a drug and Ryan was addicted.

~~~~~

Ray perched on top of the roof, sniper in hand. He was poised to take down a drug lord, not for some righteous reason, but because he wanted the stash. He took a deep breath to steady himself when the man in question came into his field of vision. This was nothing new. Take out the competition, claim their stash, sell it. Ray was fairly well known, not as Ray of course, in New York’s underground communities and several other places around the Northeast. He only had the best. Shit from Cuba and Mexico, other more exotic locales. He did it for the cash mostly, but also the respect. If he walked into a room of criminals in his mask and suit, gun on his hip, people were silent. They listened and they obeyed, because they knew he never missed. A gunshot rang out in the night and the man dropped to the ground. Ray pulled on his mask and climbed down from the building, empty duffle bags on his back ready to be filled.

~~~~~~

When Ray met Gavin, it was purely coincidental. Ray had been on a rooftop party with a bunch of richies. He was leaned against the railing, occasionally exchanging money for coke. It was so subtle even the buyers were startled when they felt the drug there. Ray hated parties themselves. He didn’t drink, only smoked a joint here and there, so it was just him surrounded by the intoxicated. He spotted a man across the roof. He was lanky, tan, with sandy hair. His smile was charming, and he danced through the crowd fluidly. To the untrained eye it was just a charismatic stranger, but Ray noticed the skilled hands that easily pried off jewels and wallets from people. He watched the man for a while longer. Once the guy had filled his pockets, he walked over to the bar and grabbed a drink. The guy started to look bored and eventually made his way over to Ray.

“Hey there, can I buy you a drink?” The man sidled up next to him and smiled. He had an English accent and Ray raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t drink,” he put his hands in his pockets and watched the guys hands carefully. He didn’t want to get violent tonight, but he would if he had to.

“That’s a rare trait in a dealer,” the guy gave him a skeptical look and Ray furrowed his brow.

“What are you talking about?” He played it off. He wondered which idiot told this guy about Ray’s occupation.

“Oh please. Slinking about in the corners? Watching people like a bloody hawk? They might not see your hands exchanging the goods, but I can,” the guy smirked.

“So what, you gonna use your little pickpocket skills and take my shit?” Ray pushed off the railing and assumed a more threatening stance.

“I think we both know my skills aren’t little,” the man rolled his eyes and looked a bit offended, “but no. I just wanted to chat, what’s your name?”

“None of your fucking business,” Ray glared and the man sighed.

“Come on, I just want someone to talk to. I can’t leave yet and I’m bored with the wealthy.”

“You can leave,” it came out more of an order than a statement, but Ray didn’t care. He didn’t need this guy fucking up his haul tonight.

“I mean physically, yeah, but not in style. I have my eyes on this baby,” he pulled out the keys to a Porsche from his pockets and grinned, “but I’ve got to wait until you get all these people more fucked up so that I can slip away.”

“So what? I’m your diversion?” 

“Actually the drugs are, but since you are the purveyor of said drugs, you are involved,” the guy still had a dopey smile and Ray finally gave in and rolled his eyes. His legs were killing him, he was in a pissy mood, and this guy looked dumb enough to take. Ray honestly had nothing to worry about, the guy probably couldn’t even hold a gun.

“Whatever. I’ll help you GTFO, but you have to do a favor for me,” Ray glanced at the keys still in the guy’s hands, mom said not to get in the car with strangers, but if he had a good relationship with his mother maybe he wouldn’t be selling drugs on a rooftop right now.

“What do you need?”

“A ride.”

 

They were in the stolen Porsche and Ray was slightly regretting getting in the car with the guy. He drove like a maniac, but they did get to where Ray needed to be faster than he could in a taxi. The guy looked pretty happy behind the wheel. His face was lit up with the thrill and Ray had to admit that even though it was scary as shit, it was pretty fun. He wondered how long this guy was in town for. He could use a driver for getaways and meet-ups. The guy seemed more than skilled at evading the cops. 

“How long are you in town?”

“Until I get bored.”

“Wanna be my getaway driver?”

“You going to pay me?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll drive you then,” the guy grinned and pulled up to the place Ray had told him to.

“Keep going. Take me to my place. What’s your name?” Ray decided it couldn’t be that big of a deal to let the guy in, besides. He didn’t miss when he shot.

“I believe I asked this question first,” the guy chuckled, “Gavin.”

“Ray.”

“Pleasure.”

~~~~

When Michael met Ryan, it was by chance. Michael was wandering back alleys and setting things on fire as he went, just relieving some tension, when he saw a figure crouched over something-someone else towards the end of the alley. He was curious by nature, so he snuck closer to inspect the scene. He had a small handgun with him just in case, so he wasn’t that worried about being attacked. He pocketed his lighter when the figures were more visible. A man with strong arms and dirty blonde hair straddled the other man, fingers around his throat. The man on his back was choking and crying, squeaking out pleas. His face was purple and his legs were flailing. Michael grinned and leaned against the wall. This was violence he could get behind. Not that he killed on purpose, he just fought and if anyone died from their injuries, he hadn’t stuck around long enough to see. 

The guy getting strangled eventually quieted and the guy on top let his grip go and grabbed the chin and forehead instead. Michael waited with anticipation for the crack that sounded through the air. The killer breathed in the hot as fuck Atlanta air and smiled when he dropped the body’s head onto the concrete. Michael was ballsey and afraid of no man. So he let out one lone clap. The killer jumped and turned to him, a dark look crossing his face.

“What the fuck are you doing,” he hissed and started towards Michael.

“Just enjoying the show,” Michael held up his hands in surrender. The guy seemed taken aback by his answer and cocked his head to the side.

“That’s fucked up.”

“You just strangled a guy and snapped his neck,” Michael nodded to the limp form and the guy shrugged.

“At least I know I’m fucked up”

“How are you going to get rid of the body?”

“Don’t know yet,” there were sirens in the distance and the guy swore. “Why the fuck are the cops here?”

“Sorry,” Michael smiled sheepishly, “that’s probably my fault,” he pointed to the billowing smoke cloud not too far from them. 

“A fucking arsonist? Jesus Christ, of all the showy crimes…”

“Hey that’s a way to get rid of the body,” Michael grinned and pulled out his lighter before taking his backpack off to grab the small can of lighter fluid he knew he had.

“That’s sick and twisted… I like it,” the guy reached for the fluid and started dousing the body with it. Michael felt giddiness rise in his chest. He hadn’t burned a person yet. At least…Not on purpose. The way fire destroyed things so quickly was just fascinating. The idea of there being a person there and then suddenly not, excited Michael. “I’ll let you do the honors,” the guy capped the fluid and stood back. Michael flicked open the lighter and decided to just throw it onto the body. He’d milked it for what it was worth and he had twelve more. The flames leapt up and he felt euphoria erupt inside of him. They licked at flesh and it quickly disintegrated. The smell was fucking awful, though. The worst Michael had smelled in his life, but fuck if it wasn’t beautiful.

“That’s fucking incredible,” Michael sighed out. 

“We should get going, kid,” the guy nudged his arm and started jogging away. Michael tore his eyes away and started running after him. He thinks he’s just made a new friend.

He’s right. Ryan, he soon learns the guy’s name, is like a subdued version of Michael. They go back to his place, a quaint little house in Atlanta, and drink too much before playing video games and passing out on the couch. They have a lot in common and become good friends pretty quickly. Ryan helps Michael learn how to be more careful, and Michael teaches Ryan all about fire and evasion. It’s a good friendly dynamic if not a bit twisted.

~~~~~~

When Geoff and Griffon met Jack, it was entirely purposeful and 100% planned. Geoff and Griffon were delivering some Russian spyware, blueprints and fancy untraceable databases to Jack’s house. They arrived on his doorstep, surprised when his wife opened the door. No client had ever given them their real address. Caiti invited them in warmly and they walked in cautiously. Griffon was in her trademark black cat suit, weapons on her sides. Geoff went for a more business-like approach, his guns hidden under a blazer. Caiti didn’t even blink when she saw the arsenal strapped to Griffon’s hip. Jack came out of the kitchen in jeans and a t-shirt. He held out a hand that Geoff hesitantly shook.

“Hi, I’m Jack Patillo.It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey,” he held a hand out for Griffon as well.

“What the hell is going on here?” Griffon scowled, moving to shake his hand.

“What do you mean?” Jack smiled.

“This is an illegal as dicks hand off and we’re standing in your living room like old friends,” Geoff frowned.

“Do you know who I am?” Jack asked and nodded for them to sit in the living room. They did so albeit reluctantly.Geoff set the duffle bag of goods on Jack’s coffee table.

“Jack Patillo?” 

“Most people know me as The Virtual God.” 

Jack smiled when recognition dawned on Geoff’s face and he cursed. Jack probably knew what he ate for breakfast that morning; forget about all the personal and secret stuff.

“Why the fuck are we here?” Griffon drew her gun, fed up with the surprises. Caiti winced.

“Because I need fancy new things,” Jack put his palms up in surrender, “I’m not here to hurt you in any way. I was even going to ask you to stay for dinner, because all that running has to be tedious.”

“I’m so confused right now,” Geoff motioned for Griffon to lower her gun.

“Why would a virtual god need us?” she stood behind Geoff’s left shoulder and continued to glare at Jack.

“The name is a bit cringey and extreme; I’m not a God by any means. I just know a lot of stuff. Which means I know that you two are the best in the nation at what you do. I need high quality stuff, I figure you guys could use another set of eyes. If you don’t accept the offer, that’s fine.”

“How do we know we can we trust you?” Geoff raised an eyebrow.

“Well for one, my wife answered the door. The door to my actual home I might add. I am completely unarmed and vulnerable,” Jack gestured to his casual clothes as if to prove a point. 

“Let’s just make the deal,” Geoff sighed and nodded to the duffle. Jack smiled and opened it. He looked over the equipment with a reverence Geoff couldn't understand. Some of it looked like it would break if he so much as breathed on it. Jack seemed satisfied and pulled out a large sum of cash from his pocket. He handed it over to Geoff who put it in his own suit pocket.

“The offer still stands for the two of you to stay for dinner. I’m grilling steaks,” he smiled. Geoff’s mouth watered a little. He hadn’t had a good steak in ages, and where better than Texas to do so. He turned to see Griffon’s expression. She seemed to have lightened up with the exchange of goods. She was probably expecting there to be a brutal shoot out of some kind. It had been a while since their last peaceful deal.

“I guess we could stay for a bit. Honey, what do you think?” 

“Maybe for a bit, but any funny business and I’ll gun you down, got it?” Griffon waited until Jack nodded before she dropped out of her threatening stance and into a more relaxed person.

“About that partnership…”

“We’ll talk about it over dinner,” Geoff smiled and got up to follow Jack out to the grill. The comradery soon grew and he checked up on Griffon from time to time. He almost fainted when he saw her and Caiti watching some shitty reality show together and laughing. He hadn’t seen Griff socialize like that in a while. It was nice. Maybe a friendship wouldn’t kill them. They could use a God on their side. Even a fake one.


	2. Go Big or Go Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. No, seriously. Holy Jesus. You all are awesome. Hearts to all of you. I'm so glad you kinda like this. SO here's something about my update schedule or rather lack thereof. I am three chapters ahead of what I'm posting. Each time I finish writing another chapter, I'll post one of the previous ones. Feedback is always lovely.  
> <3

Geoff and Griffon were in the conference room of some New York building, waiting for BrownMan to show up. They were early, but the waiting game was always annoying, especially when you’re as tense as they were. Geoff was in one of his tailored and expensive suits at the head of the table. Griffon, in a flowy black dress, guns strapped her thighs and hidden in her clutch bag, was pacing in the space behind her husband’s chair. She was always more apprehensive than he was. 

“Babe, sit down and relax,” Geoff put a comforting hand on her arm when she was within reach and she sighed in reply.

“I can’t. You know how powerful this kid is,” she gnawed on her bottom lip and Geoff kissed her hand.

“I do, but I also know that he doesn’t do conference room shoot-outs. So stop worrying, sit down, and look pretty. Besides, Jack’s got eyes on the whole place.” she nodded and finally sat next to him, eyes boring holes into the door of the room. Geoff checked the time on his phone, one minute until the time they were supposed to meet. The time ticked over and the door opened. Geoff is impressed with this guy’s punctuality. He stiffened though when another man followed BrownMan in.

“What’s with the friend?” Griffon growled and started to rise, Geoff put a hand on her arm and she scowled, but returned to sitting.

“Sorry about that,” BrownMan shut the door behind them. It was a bit unnerving to be talking to a mask instead of a face. It was just a simple brown latex thing that hid most facial features leaving only his eyes and a mouth exposed.

“This is Vav. He is my associate,” he gestured to the guy beside him. Vav looked about as threatening as a kitten. He didn’t have a mask, just a pair of douchebag worthy sunglasses that covered half of his face. His dark grey button up and slacks were infinitely more casual than BrownMan’s own suit. Geoff wanted to scoff at the idea of these two kids being in control of such large scale drug-trafficking. 

“We don’t like surprises,” Griffon grit out and BrownMan raised his hands in surrender.

“Again, I’m sorry. Can we get on with the meeting?” he sat at the other end of the small table, Vav next to him. Geoff nodded and opened his briefcase. He pulls out numerous file folders and pushed each one across the table.

“What are you looking at us getting? We’ve got connections almost anywhere on the planet. We’re not fucking with Mexico right now though.”  
Geoff watched him pick up the file and look over their various locations.

“I want the best,” he set down the file and picks up another, the one with their prices. Vav has stopped paying attention and is trying to balance a pen on his impressive nose. Geoff wondered when he went from an internationally renowned smuggler to a caterer of fucking toddlers. 

“Do you want it all from one country?” Griffon asked as she wrote down the entirety of their interaction with BrownMan.

“I’d rather you get them from places that specialize in the substance,” he looked at them and folded his hands on the table, “I need MDMA, LSD, heroin, and plenty of cocaine.”

“Can do,” Griffon scribbled them down, “what quantities?” 

“Whatever you can get without attracting too much attention,” he punched Vav in the arm, making the guy let out an indignant squawk. Geoff rolls his eyes. “Vav, get the money.”

“Whatever, bloody rude asshole,” Vav had an English accent that made Geoff giggle. It was like a shitty Austin Powers. He left the room and came back not a few minutes later, a case in hand.

“Here,” he tossed it onto the table and slumped back into his seat. Geoff saw BrownMan roll his eyes.

“Why the fuck do I even take you with me?”

“Because you love me,” Vav nudged him and chuckled.

“No homo,” Brownman chuckled. Griffon sighed, obviously annoyed by the lack of professionalism. “Anyway,” he turned back to them, “that should be ten grand as a down payment. I’ll give you what I owe when you get back in the states, deal?”

“Deal,” Geoff started counting the stacks in the case. 

“Vav, go get the car.”

“What am I? Your butler?” 

“You are English,” Vav got up and left the room, “Again, sorry about him.”

“It’s all good,” Geoff was in a better mood now that he was holding sweet, sweet,Benjamins.

“We’ll have it in a month at earliest,” Griffon said as she folded up the piece of paper she’d been writing on and tucked it into her purse. They all rose and shook hands. BrownMan left first and Geoff and Griffon followed soon after. They didn’t smuggle drugs very often, usually it was weapons, but drug missions were always fun. They got down to the car park just soon enough to catch a glimpse of a sleek silver car screeching away. Vav was definitely driving.

 

~~~~~~

 

“Shut the fuck up, Ryan,” Michael hissed into the earpiece. Ryan was on the rooftops looking for their target. Michael and Ryan had decided to use their destructive habits in a more monetary way. It turned out that more people than not were looking for a hit man. And that’s why they were somewhere in Chicago, waiting to pounce on some irrelevant person so some other irrelevant person could do some irrelevant thing. All that mattered was the money and the murder. 

“You shut the fuck up,” he hissed back, “I’m trying to help.”

“It’s not that difficult. I see the guy, I hit him a little, I pull the trigger. I’m not a virgin,” Michael scoffed and Ryan chuckled at his analogy.

“Whatever, Michael, just be quick about it. And at least a little subtle, please.”

“Subtle is my middle name.”

“Bullshit,” Michael could practically hear Ryan’s eyes rolling. “Coming up on your left, I’ll be down in a sec,” Ryan cut out and Michael cocked his gun.

Three guys were walking together. Michael was in charge of the two burly meatheads on either side. He’d distract them while Ryan drugged and trapped the main one. He made sure to see Ryan across the way before he ran out of the shadows and smashed the butt of his gun into one guys head. Fights were a lot quieter than movies portrayed them. There was thudding and muffled curses from every party and the occasional silenced gunshot. Michael had the two guys trained on him. He was agile though, a runner and an evader. Duck, punch, shoot. Duck, punch, shoot. The two wounded hissed and tried to keep fighting, but they were too slow. He smashed one of their noses with his gun, and blood poured down the guy’s face. 

“Michael, I got him,” Ryan’s voice was in his ear and Michael smiled. He got up in one of their faces and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The blood spray was kind of gruesome, but satisfying. He did the same to the other and pulled some matches out of his pocket. A quick swipe and a toss had the stench of flesh seeping into the air. He chuckled and started running after Ryan, sweat mixing with the blood on his face.

They handed the guy over to the people they were working for, got paid, and went to their hotel. It was always a bit disappointing when their clients wanted their targets alive, but money was money. Michael had moved in with Ryan back in Georgia a little while after they met. The two were good at living together most of the time. Although, occasionally there would be full on fist fights over who ate the last bowl of cereal, which Ryan usually won, damn his discipline.

Back at the hotel, Michael went straight to the shower. He winced at his bloodied face and stepped under the hot spray. Ryan was talking about maybe getting involved in something bigger than just the two of them, which was all well and good, but neither of them did very well with authority. If they were expected to work under a boss, things could get ugly quick. Michael hissed when he tore open the cut in his lip again. Fucking mouth injuries were the worst.

Ryan was sitting on his bed in the hotel flicking through the channels. He could hear Michael singing in the shower and chuckled when an especially passionate version of ‘Toxic’ started coming through the walls. Michael was a good kid. Well as good as you could get when your workday consisted of torching buildings and fighting people. He settled on some sitcom with stupid characters. They needed to get home soon, Ryan hated Chicago. There was too much opportunity to get mixed up with the mob here. Ryan and Michael were good, but they weren’t that good. Plus, they were new to this whole ‘slightly organized’ thing.

Michael came out of the bathroom in some sleep pants with a towel draped around his shoulders. Ryan tossed him the remote and went to take his own shower.  
They would leave tomorrow.

 

~~~~~

 

“Raaaaaaay,” Gavin whined. Ray groaned and walked into his living room, abandoning the pizza rolls he’d been cooking, to see what his live in two year old needed.

“What?” Gavin was turned around on the couch, pouting at him. His character was dead on the screen and Ray cringed at the ratio.

“I can’t get this achievement. How, Ray? HOW!?” He flopped back onto the couch dramatically and Ray rolled his eyes. Sometimes he couldn’t believe this guy could tie his shoes, let alone rob a store blind.

“Just don’t be stupid.” Ray heard the microwave beep and went to claim his delicious pizza rolls. Most people in these townhouses ate caviar. Ray was a man of simple pleasures though. 

“Helpful.” Gavin’s sarcastic mutter came from the other room. Ray laughed and sat in the recliner.

“Just take the sneaky route. You keep going at it with brute force, but that alerts all the enemies in your area.” Ray popped a roll in his mouth and immediately spit it back out when it seared his tongue. Gavin made a disgusted face, so Ray just threw the soggy roll at him. Gavin squawked indignantly and flailed his arms. 

“You’re an asshole. I tried that already, but they keep seeing me. God this stuff is so much easier in real life,” Gavin sighed and played through the level again. Taking Gavin in was either the best or worst decision Ray had ever made. On the plus side there was endless entertainment, but there was also the Gavin component. He’d almost lost his deal with the Ramseys in the very beginning because Gav insisted on sitting in. “Can’t have me waiting in the car attracting attention, can we?” Gavin had been helpful in the long run though. Deals were easier and less bloody when you had a maniac driver to take you away from the action. Plus every once in a while Ray would come home to a sweet new appliance or painting. It may have been wrong of him to encourage his friend’s klepto habits when they had plenty of money to buy the stuff, but yolo right?

“You’re just spraying into the crowd you dope,” Ray critiqued Gavin’s gaming through a mouthful. Gavin just sighed and quit the game.

“Fuck this, I’m gonna play Minecraft. Wanna join?” He held up another controller and Ray took it.

“Just don’t burn my house,” Gavin nodded and later on when Ray was punching him in the stomach, Gavin tried to point out that he never said anything about TNT being off limit. The little shit.

 

Late nights with Ray and Gavin usually consisted of simple stakeouts. They’d sit in Gavin’s car of the week eating doughnuts and observing. Tonight it was the small scale dealers in the New York area. Ray didn’t usually cater to the average client. He preferred big names with big wallets. The little gangs that ran weed and meth deals were no real competition, but still. He liked to know what was up. Gavin pointed to a guy in a hoodie on the corner.

“He’s got heroin.”

“How can you tell?” Ray took another bite of doughnut and watched the guy carefully. He was probably selling some half assed shit that would only give the client a short high.

“His handoffs are pretty sloppy, and his clients look a little better dressed than the meth heads elsewhere.”

“Speaking of the dregs of society, are you sure this was the best car to take? We’re so getting jumped,” Ray gestured to the pretty Corvette and Gavin shrugged.

“I wanted it. I think I’m gonna get a cop car next time,” he waggled his eyebrows and Ray rolled his eyes but not before letting out a chuckle.

“Jesus Christ, you are so unsubtle, it hurts.” Ray was bored with people watching, “Let’s hit up Chipotle and go home.”

“Wanna see who can spot the most prostitutes?”

“You are severely outmatched,” Gavin chuckled and started up the car, pulling away and zipping in and out of traffic. Ray had gotten over the whole ‘scared for his life’ thing. This was normal to him now. Maybe that wasn’t a good thing. Buuuut fuck it.

 

~~~~

 

“A whole month?” Jack raised an eyebrow at Geoff who shrugged and took a swig of his beer.

“The kid is paying really well.”

“You sure you don’t want to take back up?” he was worried about his friends. They were powerful, yes, but drug cartels were dangerous as shit. The two of them had been working pretty non-stop recently, and this would be a taxing mission. Griffon was inside cleaning guns with Caiti instead of out there drinking with the two of them. She was a bigger workaholic than Geoff. 

“You know us, Jack. We don’t need twenty beefy guys behind us. We got this, plus, you’ll have eyes over there and can give us a heads up if we need it,” Geoff reasoned as he turned to look through the window into where Griffon was sitting, a dismantled AK in her hands.

“She needs a break,” Jack sighed. Geoff nodded.

“You know Griff though. If she hasn’t checked out every minute detail she thinks something terrible is gonna happen. I’m gonna go get her, you want another beer?” he held out his hand to take Jack’s empty. 

“Yeah, thanks. Get Caiti too. It’s nice outside; we should be bonding and shit,” Jack watched Geoff disappear into the house and sighed. He was grateful not to be part of the frontlines. He was sure the two of them would be fine, but with them gone for a month, that put his plans on hold. He didn’t know if it would be his greatest idea since he decided to team up the Ramseys or if it was farfetched and ridiculous. Either way, timing was inconvenient as fuck. He was glad to see the girls following Geoff back outside, drinks in hand. A little relaxation before a job wouldn’t kill them.

 

~~~~

 

Geoff wolf-whistled when his wife sauntered out of the bathroom. They were in a shitty Afghani motel getting ready to meet up with a dealer. Geoff was in his typical cargo pants and combat boots, a bullet-proof vest under his white t-shirt and guns strapped to him. He was all about the comfort, Griffon, however, was forever the extravagant one. A skin tight red cat-suit hugged her in all the right places and let her cleavage peak out. Black laced boots came to her mid-calf, a knife handle peaking out of each of them. She had two small assault rifles on her hips, a pistol in her thigh holster, and a sawed off shotgun in her hand. She smirked at him and turned around to show off her ass.

“You like? It’s not very subtle, but I figure it makes an impact.”

“Fucking Christ, Griff. How am I supposed to fight with a raging boner?” Geoff chuckled and checked for drool before pulling her foreword into a searing kiss. “But yes, I very much like.”

“We should get going,” she chuckled when he moved down to her neck and ran his hands along her body.

“You can’t just waltz out here like a little minx and give me blue balls,” Geoff whined and she grinned.

“Take your frustrations out on some henchmen, we’re already a little behind,” he pulled away from her reluctantly and grabbed his own shotgun. The best thing about the middle-east was that nobody batted an eye when they walked up to their jacked up Hummer loaded to their necks with guns. Geoff climbed into the driver’s seat and started down the dusty roads. He called Jack and put him on through the radio.

“Hey Jack, do you have eyes on the place?”

“Yep, do you guys know how to get there?” 

“Vaguely, could you put the info into our GPS?”

“Yeah, hold on,” there was some rustling and typing and clicking and then Jack was back and their GPS turned on, “there you go.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Geoff adjusted their course.

“Are we expecting a fight?” Griffon was checking her lipstick in the mirror, excitement on her face.

“It’s possible,” Jack sighed, “There’s a lot of undiscussed people on the premise,” Griffon grinned.

“Awesome, let’s kick some ass.”

 

In the thick of things, Geoff didn’t really think about anything but killing the bad guys and protecting Griffon. He would take a break from running and spraying to look over at her every now and then. She was like a hurricane, bobbing and weaving and literally blowing heads off. He pulled out a grenade and lobbed it at the people coming in for back-up. These were just lowly henchmen. The real threat was inside the gates to the rather impressive mansion. 

Geoff ran to meet up with his wife who was currently in hand-to-hand with a kid way out of his league. Geoff fired a lazy gut shot and nodded for Griff to follow him. They scaled the gate and landed with a thud on the other side. Griffon pulled both of her assault rifles out and Geoff grabbed the shotgun off of his back. They walked slowly across the grounds, weapons raised. The commotion outside the gate was dying down along with the twenty or so men out there. They reached the main door and knocked out the guards, no need to waste bullets. 

“Should we knock?” Griffon turned to Geoff. He shrugged and rapped on the door with his shotgun. A short graying man answered the door and went white when three guns were immediately in his face. 

“We’re here to speak with Mr. Kassad,” Geoff gave a tight smile and the man bowed.

“You must be the Americans,” his accent was heavily pronounced and he motioned for them to come in. They didn’t lower their guns, but Geoff relaxed a little. Most of these guys saved the shootouts for the outside, they didn’t want their interior fucked up and riddled with bullets. They followed the guy up an ornate gold staircase and then down a hall to a rather large office. There was a stony middle-eastern man sitting at a large mahogany desk, an assault rifle laying on it. 

“Hello,” he greeted them bitterly.

“Thanks for the welcoming party,” Griffon smirked and pointed one gun at the doorman, “Fuck off for now.” He nodded and scurried away, closing the office door behind him. Griffon trained both barrels back on Kassad. She walked towards him slowly until the gun pressed against his temple. He squeezed his eyes shut, mouth in a hard line.

“Where’s the stuff we came for?” Geoff raised an eyebrow.

“It is in the warehouse.”

“Take us to the warehouse,” Griffon nudged his temple and his hand reached out toward his gun, but Geoff fired a shot into the desk, a few splinters bloodying Kassad’s hand. He hissed and swore at the two of them in Arabic, but got up and started leading them. Griffon kept one gun pressed to his back at all times. They passed several guards who all raised their weapons but immediately lowered them when Kassad yelled at them. People liked living, Geoff and Griffon could exploit that. A long walk and two duffel bags later, they left the mansion with plenty of Ecstasy and LSD to last BrownMan a year.


	3. LLLLet's Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um. Sorry for the wait? Here's a thing though. <3 you guys. Leave feedback!

Michael had been playing for the past twenty-four hours. His eyes were bloodshot and his whole body was greasy. Ryan had tried to convince him to go outside and experience the world, but fuck that. He was only about an hour from the end of this game. Ryan could have his fresh air. They were having a pseudo-argument anyways. Ryan had gotten into contact with some guy in Texas that was looking to make some sort of alliance. Michael was all for the proliferation of violence, don’t get him wrong, but he liked the ‘quaint’ little life he and Ryan had. They were pretty good friends, Michael could actually follow an order or two Rye gave him, but some other dude he’d never met? Nah.

He wasn’t sure when he’d passed out, but somewhere between the hours of ass-o’clock in the morning and now Ryan had draped a blanket over him, cleaned off some of his filth from the coffee table, and changed the TV to some old western movie. Michael groaned, he felt like deep fried shit. He glanced over to where Ryan was browsing through his laptop on the recliner.

“Well hello sleeping beauty,” he took a sip from his mug without looking at Michael, Which was a shame because he missed the middle finger aimed at him.

“Ugh, fuck. How long have I been out?” 

“About eighteen hours, it’s about six right now.” Michael groaned and got up, stretching his stiff muscles. It was definitely time for a shower. He trudged towards the bathroom, but was stopped by a noise from Ryan.

“What?” he turned to glare half-heartedly, too tired to put any real malice behind his facial expressions.

“I was talking with Jack earlier this morning-“

“The guy in Texas?” Michael scowled.

“Yes, he really wants us down there. He’s got a pretty solid plan and implied that he had the Ramsey's on his side.”

“The Ramsey’s?” Michael raised an eyebrow and tried not to fangirl too much about the possibility of meeting the Geoff Ramsey.

“Yep. I’m going. You don’t have to I guess, but he mentioned wanting both of us,” Ryan turned back to his laptop screen. Michael rolled his eyes. Ryan knew that Michael would follow him. He didn’t have a puppy love crush on Ryan, but the guy was like a brother to him. He kept Michael fairly grounded, which was something nobody had ever been able to do before.

“Fuck it. When do we leave?”

“A week or so,” Ryan smiled and shooed Michael to the bathroom. “Take a shower, you smell like ass.” Michael just stuck his tongue out. “Real mature.”

~~~~

“Fuckin hype!” Ray was jumping along with the music blaring in the background while he buttoned up his shirt. Gavin poked his head around the corner and rolled his eyes.

“Do I have to wear a tie?” 

“Yep!” Ray thrashed his head around and threw a tie in Gavin’s face. They were going to a party, but not just a shitty thing. Some guy was hosting a ‘Game Night’ with all of his rich ass friends in his fancy pants mansion, which meant video games, fantastic food, and unreleased games. Ray would be working, obviously, but he couldn’t really be too annoyed. Gavin pulled the tie off of his face and started struggling to put it on.

“Are you high or something? I’ve never seen you willingly expending energy,” Gavin raised an eyebrow at Ray’s antics. 

“High on life,” Ray grabbed his blazer from the foot of the bed and shut off the stereo. The silence was a bit startling. He herded Gavin out of his room and shut the door behind him. “Hurry the fuck up, we need to go.”

“Calm your tits,” Gavin grinned and grabbed his own jacket. They slipped on their douchey face-covering sunglasses and left. The flavor of the week was a sleek Cadillac. It was a little more subdued than Gavin usually took, but Ray was grateful for the slower acceleration. Gavin kept switching stations until he landed on some shitty pop. Ray saw Gavin’s mouth open before he heard his tone deaf screeching.

“Don’t you even-“

“I’M SO FANCY!”

“Why am I friends with you?” Ray ducked his head and laughed as Gavin sang at him.

“YOU ALREADY KNOOOOW.”

~~~~

Jack rubbed his eyes and sighed, staring at his email with relief. Haywood and Jones had both agreed to come join his little operation. It would be good to have some loose cannons like them thrown in. Geoff, Griffon, and himself were careful and meticulous. Ray Narvaez, aka Brownman, was wise beyond his years. Jack hadn’t been able to contact him yet. He’d just barely discovered the actual identity of the kid. There had been some grainy photos of him hanging around the seedy parts of New York in flashy cars, but there was another kid with him. After even more searching and prodding at his connections, he’d come up with the name Gavin Free: thief, kleptomaniac, friend to Brownman, and a cunning mind hidden under vast amounts of pure idiocy. 

He looked up from his laptop to tell Caiti the good news, but she had already curled up asleep on the couch. He smiled and quietly powered down everything. He scooped her up carefully and she snuffled sleepily, opening one bleary eye.

“Shh,” Jack whispered and kissed her forehead, “just go back to sleep.” She shut her eye and nuzzled into his chest. He grinned, but it faltered. He’d have to have Griffon brush Caiti up on her defense skills. She was adequate, and he didn’t intend on getting himself too involved in the main line of fire, but his work already put her in danger. This little plot would only exacerbate that. He tucked her into the bed and cuddled up behind her. The excitement was nice, the fear…not so much.

~~~~~~

The great thing about private jets was the lack of airport security. The bad thing about private jets was that there was no airport security. Griffon was cursing her idea to forgo bodyguards. India was a sketchy as fuck country and they should have been more careful. Now they had three dead bodies in their plane to go along with the drugs and illegal weapons. The worst part was the wound on Geoff’s side. The guys shot about as well as storm troopers, but one had managed to graze her husband. Needless to say, she didn’t just graze him. 

Gus was still flying the plane, his panic contained. It’s why they hired him, there hadn’t even been a dip despite the gunfire behind him. They were still on track. Everything was okay, except Geoff. His face was white and he looked sick. Griffon had him on his uninjured side while she doctored the wound. It was in an inconvenient as fuck place, right where his ribs expanded when he breathed. 

“Shit,” she hissed and petted his hair when he winced at the disinfectant, “it’s okay, babe,” another soothing stroke when she put the bandage on. She helped him up and led him to one of the recliner-like chairs.

“Sorry, Griff,” he grimaced as he sat and she fluttered by his side.

“No I should have been backing you up better, I’m sorry,” she kissed him fiercely and hugged his face to her chest.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Geoff sighed and rubbed soothing circles into her thighs, “it’s just a scratch.”

“A scratch that would have killed you if it were just a few inches to the left,” her voice held a bit of the hysteria she’d been holding in. 

“But it didn’t,” Geoff tried to give her a reassuring smile but just ended up sighing and pulling her down for a chaste kiss. “Go talk to Gus about a place to drop the bodies, I need a nap.”

“From now on we’re wearing our gear on the plane,” Griffon frowned and turned towards the cockpit.

“Aw,” Geoff whined, “But this is cool down time and the vests are so uncomfortable,” Griffon shot him a look and he conceded, “Fine, a guy gets a little shot and suddenly he has to give up his comfy privileges.”

“Don’t make me gag you,” Griffon halfheartedly threatened.

“That’s my fetish,” Geoff chuckled and she rolled her eyes.

“Take your fucking nap,” she opened the door to the cockpit and Geoff reclined his chair, slipping into a shallow sleep.

~~~~~~

“Geoff got fucking shot?” Jack could feel the worry rising as Griffon retold the story over the phone. He heard Geoff’s voice mutter something about ‘only a flesh wound’ and then what sounded like a pillow hitting a face.

“He was grazed, the bullet wasn’t inside him, just kind of there. India was our last stop anyway, so we’re staying in a hotel until Geoff can breathe without bleeding and then Gus is going to fly us home. We had a doctor stitch him up, so we should be able to get home in two or three days. Is that early enough?” he could hear how tired she sounded. Despite her tough exterior, Griffon was a worrier.

“Yeah, I have the two guys I was telling you about coming in about a week. I still haven’t gotten a hold of Brownman, but I’m getting there, so-“

“Brownman? We have connections with him,” Griffon perked up and Jack gaped, “that’s actually who we’re getting this stuff for.”

“How have you not told me this?!”

“Didn’t know it was him you wanted,” she chuckled, “get a pen; I’ll give you his business number. We don’t know much about the kid, so I can’t tell you how he’ll react. Don’t mention who you got the number from. This is a nice deal for Geoff and me.” 

Jack copied down the number she gave him in stunned silence. He’d expected to do hours upon hours of work just to find a burner email for the guy. He thanked her and was about to hang up before he remembered something. 

“Hey, Griff?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind if we used your country house as a base of operations? Just to keep the ruckus away from our actual homes and to give the other guys a place to stay.”

“I guess. We never really stay there anymore because the helicopter can’t reach it, so sure.”

“You guys are amazing,” Jack smiled and did a little happy dance. Everything was coming together swimmingly.

“What exactly is this giant plan?” Griffon whined, “You’ve given us bits and pieces, but it’s killing us to know.”

“You’ll see at the meeting. As soon as I get a date from Ray I’ll know when that is.”

“Ray?”

“Actual identity of New York’s youngest badass.”

“You’re incredible, Jack,” Griffon chuckled and said goodbye. Jack hung up the phone and grinned down at the scrawled number in his hand. Finally.

~~~~

“X-Ray!” Gavin called out, his fingers flicking over the controls and character running across the halo map.

“Sup?” Ray wandered in, his Pokémon sleep pants riding low, a piece of toast in his hand.

“Business phone is ringing,” Gavin nodded at the little black thing that always sat in the center of their-Ray’s-coffee table.

“Oh shit,” Ray jogged over to it and flipped it open, “Hello?”

“Who is it?” Gavin stage whispered and tried to look around Ray. The bastard was stood right in between him and the telly. Ray flipped him off, a frown on his face.

“How did you get this number?” Gavin watched Ray’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “Oh, wow, I didn’t believe you were real. Let me rephrase that. Why do you have this number?” Gavin winced at the stiff posture of his friend. Businessey Ray wasn’t a lot of fun. Gavin sighed and left the match, getting up to go grab some cereal. He’d leave Ray to sort out the mystery person on the other end of the line. 

For someone with so much money, Ray had some absolute shite food in his house. The guy lived off of pizza rolls and chipotle, not that that was bad, but Gavin didn’t hate his arteries and bowels quite as much. Ray would tell him to buy his own groceries, and he could, Gavin was plenty wealthy, but that required going to the store and actually performing a menial task that took more effort than ordering take-out. So that was a no go, and the two of them lived like poor college students.

“Pack some shit, Gav,” Ray peeked into the kitchen, a small smile on his face, “we’re going to Texas.”

“What, why?” Gavin frowned and put his bowl of cereal back down.

“Boredom and an opportunity. I’ll explain on the way there.”

“Can I finish my cereal?”

“Fucking, I don’t care, just pack your shit,” he made a face and left. Gavin frowned and took his cereal back to his bedroom. He liked New York. It was big and filled with expensive cars and expensive people. Whatever was in Texas must have been pretty insane to get Ray to agree to go. The guy wouldn’t even go to a different pizza place.

Later that night at some ungodly hour, they were boarding a flight. Gavin was practically exploding with questions. It wasn’t until they were in their seats that Ray finally turned to him and explained.

“So, there’s this guy, The Virtual God, you may have heard of him. He’s recruiting all these sketchy, fairly big named people and building a little team. He won’t tell me why or the goal, but he gave me information and it all checks out. He’s got the Ramsey’s, so I still get my haul. He invited me, and you, to this meeting thing.”

“And we’re just going?” Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“I have a good feeling about this, plus, I can take him out if I need to. It’s really not a big deal. Not to mention I’m bored as fuck with my life right now,” the serious ending made Gavin wince.

“Harsh.”

“It’s true, man. I just feel like something’s missing. You’ve made it a little better, but it’s the same thing every night. The same people. The same job. It’s just boring,” Ray gnawed on his lower lip and looked up at Gavin. “You get it, right Vav?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I do,” and he meant it. The boredom was almost suffocating sometimes.

~~~~

“We are not driving,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Well we can’t risk taking a plane,” Ryan shot back, googling the address Jack had given them and printing out directions.

“What do you mean? We’re just two dudes, nothing suspicious,” Michael shouldered his duffel and scowled. He did not want to spend sixteen hours in a car.

“Two dudes packed to the brim with weapons,” Ryan scoffed, “yeah, nothing suspicious.”

“I bet the others are taking a plane,” Michael muttered under his breath and Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose.

“The others have private planes to charter them with all of their shit. We have the Porsche.”

“Are we going to be the poor ones at this meeting?” Michael scrunched his nose.

“Not poor, but we haven’t been doing this as long. Plus I think it’s stupid that we would need a plane. We get flown everywhere we go by someone else,” Ryan grabbed the directions and his own bag. He double checked the room and they both left.

“What if I wanted to fuck off to the Bahamas for a while, a jet would come in handy then,” Michael let the elevator doors close before a big family could try to squeeze their happy asses in with them.

“Buy it with your cash,” Ryan rolled his eyes.

“You’re supposed to be my sugar daddy,” Michael fake pouted and Ryan chuckled.

“Sorry, I’m not into psychopaths.”

“I am not a psychopath. I’m a pyromaniac. There’s a difference. You’re the psychopath you psychopath,” he stepped out into the car garage and shoved his shit into the trunk. Ryan followed suit. Michael climbed into the driver’s side and made Ryan put on his seatbelt.

“We’re criminals,” he argued, “Criminals don’t wear seatbelts.”

“Everybody needs to be safe,” Michael did his best motherly voice, “Click it or ticket.”

“Just drive.”

“Yes sir,” Michael saluted him.

“Aren’t you supposed to keep both hands on the wheel? For safety?” Ryan mocked him.

“Shut the fuck up. You’re the navigation bitch. Navigate me. Bitch.”

~~~~~

Geoff and Jack walked through the old Ramsey residence. It was nestled in one of the few less developed parts of Austin. Trees shaded its driveway and then gave way to a large meadow where the big white house stood. It was almost antebellum in its appearance. There were two stories and a railed balcony. The inside was nice as well, hardwood floors and a thin layer of dust over all of the antique furniture. Geoff and Griffon had denounced it a few years ago, claiming it was too secluded and rustic.

“We can use the living room for the meeting,” Jack looked over for Geoff’s approval, “Or is that too relaxed of an environment?” 

“I don’t know, man, it’s your deal, you pick the spot,” Geoff sat down gingerly, aware of his injury, and ran his hand over the dusty end tables. “I’ll have a cleaning lady come over and spruce it up later tonight. All those guys are gonna be here tomorrow afternoon, right?”

“Right,” Jack glanced around once more, “should we set up some TVs and Xboxes and stuff? In case they decide to stay so they have something to occupy time with?”

“I think Griff and I have some stuff in storage we can use,” Geoff yawned and relaxed further into the sofa, “damn I forgot how comfy this thing was.”

Jack sighed and sat next to Geoff. They hadn’t bothered with lights; the sun was filtering through the white curtains just fine. The house was really homey for a couple of criminals, but then again, what a better disguise?

“How do you think the girls are doing?” Jack worried his lip. The day was upon them and he was starting to feel the anxiety.

“Fine I’m sure, Griff was just going to show Caiti some basic defense and handgun techniques,” Geoff hadn’t opened his eyes and when quiet little snores started coming out of his mouth, Jack shook his head. Geoff could fall asleep anywhere. It was a comfy couch though. He supposed one little nap couldn’t hurt. Two gents cuddling, sounded like a party. He texted Caiti to tell her they were fine and snapped a pic of sleepy Geoff to send Griffon.

He hoped the other guys would be able to blend as well as he and Geoff had.


	4. Bad Guys Have Trust Issues. Who Knew?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is bae.   
> Kudos are lovely and comments make me fuzzy.   
> <3

“I told you we were fucking lost!” Michael growled and made his third U-turn.

“Well excuse me for not being able to read the directions after your stupid ass spilled redbull all over them,” Ryan griped back, his ice blue eyes cutting through the driver across from him. Michael had been in the passenger seat on Ryan’s turn to drive and dumped the radioactive horse piss all over their directions.

“Just use your goddamn phone!” Michael’s voice got all squeaky, “I didn’t fucking want to drive anyway.”

“My phone doesn’t pull up the address, we’ve been through this. Jesus, are you incompetent or something?” Ryan tried to decipher the wet mass of ink that used to be their way.

“I fucking hate you.”

“I hate you too, asshole,” Ryan watched Michael fume. He pursed his lips, he was a little harsh right then, but that’s how he and Michael operated: fire, feelings, and insults. Ryan almost felt bad, but he could see by the way Michael sighed and relaxed his angry posture that he hadn’t been actually offended.

“Can you drive?” Michael looked over to him with pleading eyes, “I’ll try to make out the words. I’m just fucking sick of turning around. Texas is too damn big.”

“Sure,” Michael smiled apologetically and pulled over onto the shoulder so the two of them could switch places.

“Thanks, Rye,” Michael picked up the directions and started squinting at them, “take the next exit.”

“Will do.”

~~~

“Aw sweet, free mini bar!” Gavin grabbed a beer from the tiny black fridge in their hotel room and grinned, “Ray, did you see this?”

“Don’t drink,” Ray was squinting at his laptop.

“Yeah but it’s still cool,” Gavin rolled his eyes. He flopped onto the bed and flicked on the TV scrolling through channels aimlessly. “You always travel in such style. You should enjoy your money some time.”

“I do,” he clicked on a few things and kicked his feet like a child during a tantrum, “ugh, this internet is slow as fuck.” He shoved his laptop back and rubbed his eyes.

“What are you trying to do?” Gavin took a pull from his beer and turned the TV down to just background noise.

“Get the address to pull up on Google maps. It’s not working though. I also want to check emails, but that doesn’t seem like a possibility,” Ray stood up and fell face first onto his bed. “I hate being the grown up.”

“Hey,” Gavin pouted, “I’m a grown up!” Ray snorted. “Okay, fair point.”

“I just hope that whoever these other guys are, they have some sort of common sense. Jack seems sane enough,” Ray rolled over and looked over to his computer. “Fucking hell.”

“Let’s go out,” Gavin gave up on the TV entirely and shut it off.

“Where?” Ray raised an eyebrow “We’re supposed to keep a low profile.”

“Sixth Street,” Gavin stood up and dug through his bag for something party acceptable.

“Isn’t that full of drunkards and college student?”

“Yeah, lovely place,” Gavin beamed and started undressing/redressing. Ray whined.

“I don’t drink, Gav.”

“Then blaze up a little, Jesus, you’re pouting like a…someone who pouts a lot,” Gavin grabbed the keys to the newly acquired BMW. It was a little unflashy for his tastes, but Ray insisted on a low profile.

“Eloquently put,” Ray rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just go?”

“Because it’s not as fun without my X-Ray!” Gavin groaned and nudged Ray’s foot.

“Fucking fine,” Ray didn’t change. Board shorts and a t-shirt were his go to for everything but business meetings. “But I’m smoking in the car.”

“Aw, Ray...” Gavin started to complain. He hated the smell of weed. It was too strong and it would soak into the car for days.

“Nope, you want me to deal with drunken assholes, I get to do what I want,” Ray raised an eyebrow and Gavin sighed. Ray grabbed a joint from his bag along with a lighter.

“Fine, come on,” he opened the door and led the way down to the parking garage. He tried to breathe less and rolled down the windows as Ray got progressively more lax and started to sing along to the radio quietly. Gavin grinned. Ray needed this, he’d been wound pretty tightly the past few weeks, and some partying and excitement would do him good.

~~~~~

Michael and Ryan arrived first. It was early Wednesday morning, they were pissy from driving all night, and Michael was cradling a Starbucks coffee like it was his firstborn child. They both raised their eyes at the house in front of them. Ryan was expecting something a bit more corporate, but this was definitely less suspect. Two stories of antebellum beauty spread out in front of them. It was like going back in time. Nestled inside a little meadow at the end of a long dirt drive, it was extraordinarily well hidden.

“Swanky,” Michael mumbled and looked up at Ryan with raised eyebrows. Ryan nodded and parked the car. They got out and he warned Michael to stay behind him. He held a handgun loosely. Ryan had a tendency not to trust anything that wasn’t money, and he’d be damned if Michael got hurt because he dragged him hear. The kid was like a son to him. In a weird, violent, murderous way.

A man stepped out of the front door and onto the porch, hands up in surrender. Tattoos wrapped around the guys arms, and a sleepy smile was on his face. Ryan recognized him as Geoff Ramsey.

“Hello,” Geoff greeted and invited them up. Ryan climbed the stairs hesitantly, Michael right behind him. “Ryan and Michael I take it?”

“Yeah,” Ryan nodded and sized Geoff up. He wouldn’t be able to take him easily, but he could probably get away fast enough if it came to a brawl.

“You can stop internally analyzing me,” Geoff deadpanned, “this isn’t a set up. Jesus. Criminals are so paranoid.”

“Sorry about Rye,” Michael spoke up and walked around Ryan, who protested and shot Michael a look. “He’s a little intense,” he held out a hand to Geoff. “I’m Michael and I have the hugest respect crush on you in the history of the world. Seriously, it’s a fucking honor to be working with you.” Michael flashed his dimples and Geoff chuckled, shaking his hand. 

Ryan let himself relax a little. Michael was a charmer, and Ryan was glad he’d come along. Ryan didn’t do social very well, but Michael could win over anyone he set his mind to. It was trait Ryan envied, but knew he would never possess.

“Well,” Geoff looked the two of them over, “you both look like shit, and I bet you want a shower and a nap.” Michael’s face lit up at the prospect of a nap and Ryan felt a bit of thankfulness tug at his heart as well.

“That would be nice, thank you,” Ryan offered a small smile.

“In that case,” Geoff motioned to the house behind him, “welcome to the Ramsey compound. Pick a room and dump your shit in it. Find a shower and make yourself at home. This is where you’ll stay while you’re here, unless you just want to go somewhere else.”

“Is this your house?” Ryan frowned and followed Geoff into the ridiculous place.

“Do I own it? Yes. Do I live here? No.” Geoff pointed to the hallway and curved staircases in front of them. “There are bathrooms and bedrooms down the hall and up the stairs. Living room is to the left, kitchen is behind it, dining room that is always empty slash study is to the right,” Geoff waved in the directions he described and left them in the entry way to go into the living room. They soon heard the TV unpause and what sounded like football start up.

“I want to sleep on the ground floor,” Michael looked down the hallway and the five doors in it. “It’s easier to get out if I need to.”

“Well I want the top floor,” Ryan frowned, “I want to see threats coming,” he crossed his arms.

“We could sleep on different floors,” Michael rolled his eyes. “I’m not a baby.”

“Sorry if I feel a bit responsible for you,” Ryan looked down the hallway and scrunched his nose. “Go ahead, I guess. Just be careful.” Michael nodded and started checking the doors, disappearing into one he deemed decent. Ryan sighed and climbed the stairs to the second floor. There were five doors up here too. One was a bathroom, one was just a toilet and sink, and three were bedrooms. Ryan picked the one that faced the front of the house. It had a door that opened to the balcony. The balcony was connected with the room next to his as well, and he hoped nobody picked that room. He wasn’t one for company.

~~~~~

Ray whistled when they pulled up to the house. It was fucking nice. He noticed a car already in the driveway and assumed one of the other guys was already here. Gavin flinched when he heard the noise and Ray chuckled.

“Sorry, but you shouldn’t have drank so much,” he grinned and grabbed his handgun, slipping in a magazine and climbing out of the car. 

“Raaay, wait,” Gavin whined and followed him quietly, dark sunglasses blocking out the Texan sun. Geoff Ramsey stepped out of the house and Ray clicked the safety off.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Geoff raised his hands in the air, “Why does everyone pull a fucking gun on me? Jesus. You must be Ray, by the way, I expected you two to look older. Instead we’ve got three twinks on this operation,” Geoff chuckled and held a hand out for a handshake. Ray took it and raised an eyebrow.

“Three?”

“There’s a guy named Michael here, around your age, you’ll meet him soon enough. Gavin, right?” Geoff held out a hand for Gavin as well who gave him a weak smile. “What’s up with him?” Geoff turned to Ray.

“Too many alcoholic beverages I’m afraid.”

“Poor guy,” Geoff motioned for them to come inside. “Rooms and showers both upstairs and down, pick one, feel free to explore,” he waved at them and walked over to what appeared to be the living room. Sports on the TV.

“Dude, this house is fucking amazing,” Ray turned to Gavin who was taking in his surroundings.

“You could buy one,” Gavin nudged him and Ray rolled his eyes.

“Then I’d have to clean it. I don’t need a house this big. You need lessons in finance.”

“Don’t need lessons when I’m never gonna run out,” Gavin shrugged. 

“You don’t know that though,” Ray sighed and glanced between the halls and the stairs. “I think I’m gonna take upstairs.”

“I’m just gonna stay down here,” Gavin made his way to the hall and Ray climbed the stairs. He tried a door, but it was locked, so he assumed another guy had already claimed it. There were two other bedrooms: one faced the back, the other the front. He’d seen a sweet balcony when they pulled up and to be honest, he wanted some of that action. He tried the second door and grinned when it opened. The room was nice, like the rest of the house. There were wood floors and a four poster bed in the center with antique furniture around the room. He dropped his stuff onto the bed and opened the door that lead to the balcony, stepping out and taking a deep breath. 

“Fucking great,” he heard a voice mutter and turned to see a blonde man with broad shoulders and a tan leather jacket leaning against the railing. The guy in the next room.

“Excuse me?” Ray looked around and decided he was the reason for this guy’s surliness. Which kinda sucked, because the dude was pretty hot, all elegantly draped across the railing and stuff. 

“Nothing, just had a rough day,” the guy looked him over and his mood seemed to soften a bit. “I’m Ryan, Ryan Haywood.”

“Ray Narvaez Jr.” Ray saw a flicker of recognition on the guys face and smiled. He sat down on one of the padded rocking chairs sitting out there and started rocking softly. Ryan turned away from him and continued his staring and leaning and being attractive. The silence that settled over them was easy and Ray felt relieved, so used to Gavin’s constant chatter. They just hung out there until two more cars pulled up. One was a nice, but average grey pickup truck, the other a sleek black Jaguar that gave Ray a car boner just looking at it. The owner of that had better keep it away from Gavin.

“We should go down,” Ryan broke the silence and Ray startled a bit. “That’s gonna be Griffon and Jack.” Ray nodded and went through his room walking down the stairs with Ryan. They stopped at the entryway where Geoff was waiting with a pouty Gavin and a slightly amused in that angry kind of way guy with auburn curls. Mitchell? Nah. Mike? Michael? Yeah, that was it, Michael. Ray wondered what happened for a minute, before the door opened and a beautiful blonde woman entered, a bearded man behind her.

“Hello, husband,” she smiled and sauntered over to Geoff, giving him a quick kiss and taking his hand.

“Guys, this is Griffon,” Geoff motioned to his wife who waved at them.

“I’m Jack,” the bearded man shut the door behind him and smiled at them. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but thanks for coming, also I brought pizza as a peace offering.” He held up the three boxes on his arm. Ray heard his stomach growled and instantly liked Jack.

“Are you going to explain why we’re here?” Ryan’s curt voice came from beside Ray and he started again, not realizing that the man had stayed close to him.

“I am, if you’ll follow me to the dining room we can eat and discuss,” he nodded to the room to his right and they all complied. The dining room was nice and obviously unused. A large mahogany table dominated the center of the room. Jack took the head of the table, Geoff and Griffon next to him. Ray sat by Gavin. Ryan took the other end and Michael close to him. 

Nobody had opened the pizza and the atmosphere was tense. Ray was hungry, and he wasn’t threatened by any of these people. Fuck it, yolo. He pulled a box towards him and grabbed out a slice of pepperoni.

“So what’s up?” He spoke through a mouthful and the tension seemed to pop like a bubble.

“You’re familiar with organized crime I trust?” Jack smiled at them all. “Well, I have this idea, to build a small empire. I’ve chosen all of you because you possess a quality that I need. We could rule Texas and maybe even parts of places around us if we play our cards right. The biggest threat is a Mexican lead gang in El Paso, but they aren’t affiliated with the mafia or the cartels, so we don’t have that to worry about. Other minor things are little gangs, but I think we could take this place over. The money would be big. The reputation would be fantastic. All of you could stomp out any competition and rake in more cash than ever. Not to mention the group heists we could take on with all of our skill sets. All I’m asking is for ya’ll to think about it.” Jack leaned back in his chair when he was finished. Ray was munching on his third piece of pizza while others started grabbing their firsts. Everyone was kinda silent.

“You know I’m in Jack. I’ll be behind you no matter what,” Geoff spoke up and Jack nodded. Michael and Ryan were deep in some sort of silent communication. Ray thought about the idea while he chewed on an extra large bite. It would be a great opportunity. He’d get some excitement and plenty of cash to put back. He could maintain his main relations in New York fairly easily while relocating to Austin. Texas might even be safer than the city. He shrugged.

“Fuck it, yolo, I’m in,” he cringed when he noticed he’d used the stupid acronym twice tonight uniroically. 

“I guess that means I am too,” Gavin snatched another slice of pizza and eyeballed Michael. Ray wondered what was up there and he looked back over the other pair. Ryan and Michael were staring at each other. Ryan nodded at Michael and he nodded back.

“We’ll do it,” Ryan leaned back, “but we reserve the right to leave whenever the fuck we want. No questions asked.”

“Of course,” Jack was grinning now, looking everything like a kid on Christmas morning. Ray yawned and got up from the table.

“If we aren’t discussing anything else, I think I’m gonna go turn in,” he looked to Jack who shook his head.

“Nah, go ahead. We’re not on a time crunch or anything. We can discuss strategy tomorrow. I know you’re all tired.”

Ray thanked him for the pizza and made his way to his room. He glanced at his stuff, still piled on the bed and sighed, grabbing a joint and heading out to the big rocking chair outside. He pulled his legs up against the cold and felt the hot smoke curl in his lungs. One day when all this shit was over, he’d have a nice house somewhere in upstate New York complete with a pool and pot garden. He’d make sure the house had a balcony, cause this was peaceful as shit.

~~~~

Ryan decided to turn in. Jack, Geoff, and Griffon had gone to play games in the living room, Gavin followed them. Michael went to his room which left Ryan alone. He trudged up the stairs and into his room. He’d left the balcony door open on accident. He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. That was definitely weed. He went outside to investigate and looked over the scene in front of him with appreciation. 

Ray was curled up in the chair, slowly rocking, a joint dangling in his fingertips. He was staring up at the sky, a small smile on his face. Ryan wasn’t one to notice attractiveness. He just really wasn’t looking for anyone. After all, who wanted to be with a psycho murderer with trust issues and chronic introversion? However, he would have to be blind not to find the guy adorable. All that tan skin and dark hair, not to mention the confidence and power he held in his step. Ryan Haywood was a sucker for power.

“Hey Ryan,” Ray whispered, not taking his eyes off the sky.

“Hello,” Ryan smiled. That was another thing. The quietness was alluring. Not many people could handle prolonged silence or hell even ten seconds of silence. It added a kind of mystery and Ryan found himself wanting to know more about Ray.

“The stars are so bright.” Ray brought the joint to his lips and took a deep hit, exhaling without so much as a tiny cough. “I never see them in New York. There’s too many lights.”

“They are pretty,” Ryan nodded, ignoring the stars, more interested in the man in front of him. Ray turned to him and offered a hit. Ryan hesitated, but took the joint and had nice pull. He wasn’t quite as seasoned as Ray though and ended up coughing when the smoke burned his lungs. Ryan pulled the chair from his side of the balcony over next to Ray’s. The peaceful silence settled over them again. They smoked and looked at the stars and managed to fall asleep despite the chilly wind.


	5. Awh. look they're bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first bit goes back in time a bit. Forgive my time hi-jinks.  
> Feedback would be lovely.  
> <3

Gavin’s hangover was in full force. Ray had gone upstairs to claim a room, so Gavin figured he should do the same, more worried about somewhere to lie down than anything. Geoff had the TV on American football or something. Either way, there was a lot of shouting. The first door had a light on and he could hear vaguely passionate singing and the patter of water. The shower obviously. He chuckled a little and winced when another pang went through his head. The second door had a bed, which was all he cared about. He dropped his shit and crawled onto the bed, cocooning himself in the comforter. He dozed off quick enough.

“Hey, goldilocks! Get the fuck up,” an angry voice came from the doorway and Gavin groaned. He jerked up when he felt something shoe shaped hit him.

“Goldiwhat? What the hell are you talking about?” Gavin squinted at the intruder. A cute, freckled man with auburn curls was fuming above him. He had a towel around his waist and his arms were crossed.

“Wot?” the guy mocked him and rolled his eyes, “Goldilocks and the three bears, idiot. The bitch who stole all their shit and slept in their beds?” Gavin’s brain tried to catch up and failed. “Fucking Christ, you’re in my bed. I called dibs, asshole. Get out.” Gavin looked around and noticed that there was in fact a bag perched on top of the dresser. He felt his cheeks flush.

“Sorry mate,” Gavin winced and reluctantly untangled himself from the warm nest he’d made. Michael raised an eyebrow when Gavin just stood in the center of the room.

“You gonna fuck off so I can get dressed?” Gavin blushed for real this time.

“Oh, s-sorry. I uh, I’ll just be going then,” he grabbed his stuff from the floor and tossed it into a different room. Geoff motioned for him to come into the entry way. He felt a pout settle on his face. That was a fantastic first impression. He didn’t even know the guy’s name. He was a cute little bottle of anger though. Fucking A. He saw the guy walk out of his room in jeans and black t-shirt. He still looked annoyed and Gavin winced.

“Jack and Griff will be here in a sec,” Geoff explained why they were just waiting around like assholes. “Michael, this is Gavin,” Geoff motioned between the two of them, “Gavin, this is Michael.”

Michael huh? Cute name. Fuck. Gavin waved sheepishly and Michael rolled his eyes. 

~~~~~~~

Later that night, after the business talk, and after everyone had gone to bed, Michael was still just laying in his room staring at the ceiling. He’d heard the games shut down about an hour ago, which meant the living room was probably clear. Maybe he could check and see what games they had and play through a little sleeplessness. It was natural for Michael not to sleep well. 

He stretched and climbed out of bed, pulling on some sleep pants. He padded out across the cold floor to the living room. He noticed that the TV was on, just muted and he groaned. This fucking guy. Gavin was sitting cross-legged on the couch, bloodshot eyes watching the screen while he played some Halo. He hadn’t looked up, so Michael assumed he hadn’t heard him. He coughed and Gavin jumped ten feet in the air with a squawking sound and grabbed a pillow to hide behind. Michael snorted and couldn’t stop the cackle that came next.

“You fucking moron,” he chuckled out. Gavin was staring at him with a blush on his cheeks. Michael grinned at him and the idiot dropped his head. It was cute in a fucking stupid way. 

“Sorry, am I keeping you up?” Gavin worried his lower lip and gave Michael the most endearing puppy dog eyes he’d ever seen. He was shocked for a minute but composed himself and shook his head.

“Nah. I can’t sleep normally. I was actually coming out to play a game or two, but…” He trailed off and looked at Gavin’s dead on-screen character.

“We can split screen!” Gavin chirped and winced, trying to regain some cool guy composure, “I mean, if you want,” Michael just smirked. 

“Sure,” he grabbed a second controller off the coffee table and waited for Gavin to start a new game.

~~~~

Geoff was surprised to wake up to Gavin and Michael asleep on the couch. Minecraft death screens took up the TV. Gavin was sprawled everywhere, limbs spilling over all sides of the couch. Michael had his feet up on the coffee table, head down, arms crossed, xbox controller resting on his chest. Here he thought the two of them would hate each other.

Griffon walked up behind him, awing when she saw the sight. “They’re so cute,” she smiled and grabbed a pillow off the ground, tossing it at them cruelly. Michael jerked awake and grabbed the xbox controller, assuming an offensive stance. Gavin on the other hand, let out some inhuman screeches and managed to fall off the couch in his panic. Griffon was dying and Geoff wasn’t far behind her. Michael glared and tossed the remote onto the couch angrily.

“Ha-fucking-ha,” he stomped off to his room and slammed the door. Gavin was still on the floor blinking blearily up at them.

“That wasn’t nice, Geoffrey,” he pouted.

“It wasn’t me,” Geoff pointed to Griffon who waved sheepishly.

“Griffon,” he whined and she ruffled his hair.

“Sorry, Gav. It was just so easy.”

“Bloody sleep with one eye open,” he muttered and got off the floor, stretching as he did. “What’s for breakfast?”

“There’s some cereal and shit,” Geoff motioned to the kitchen, “You guys will have to go grocery shopping if you want some serious food. Griff and I don’t live here, so whatever Jack brought over yesterday is all that’s here.”

“Why do you keep the house if you don’t live in it?” 

“For times like these,” Geoff shrugged and started towards the door, “We might move in soon, but for now we’re staying at our main place farther south.”

“What about Jack? Where is he?” Gavin picked up the pillows and tossed them on the couch, a polite attempt at cleaning.

“He isn’t going to live here. He lives close enough to just drive up when needed. He’s not like the rest of us,” Geoff grimaced, “he isn’t so sucked into the criminal world. He isn’t ever directly involved in the chaos, and he likes it that way. So, he stays with Caiti and they have their happy little normal life where they pretend like Jack’s job isn’t illegal as fuck.”

“Huh,” Gavin looked a little lost in thought and Geoff took that as his cue to leave. He grabbed Griffon’s hand and they walked out of the house and down the stairs. He liked Gavin; the kid was like a stupid deer or something. Jack’s little plan could be good for all of them.

~~~~

Ray jolted awake, which caused Ryan to jolt awake. Ray groaned, they’d fallen asleep outside, he could feel the weird position he’d slept in through his whole body. He knew his hair was greasy as fuck and his clothes stank like weed. Ryan gave him a questioning look.

“I’m all gross,” Ray offered as an explanation. Ryan nodded.

“Me too it would seem,” he looked out at the sky and winced, “fuck, it’s late.”

“I’m sure nothing’s going on,” Ray got up and stretched, scratching low on his stomach and yawning, “I’m surprised Gavin hasn’t been up here to pounce on me yet. The fucker usually never lets me sleep if he’s awake.” Ryan smiled.

“Michael does that too, well, not in the sense that he purposefully wakes me up, more like he’s just the loudest human being on the planet.”

“What’s up with you two?” Ray side-eyed Ryan curiously. He had his fingers crossed hoping he didn’t say ‘lovers’. Although what was up with that? Why did Ray care if Michael and Ryan were together? He didn’t. He did a little.

“Michael’s a good friend; I look out for him kinda like a weird son, yanno?” Ryan gave Ray the same look, “What about you and Gavin?”

“Pretty much the same. I make sure Gavin doesn’t accidentally, or on purpose, kill himself. Hooray for babysitting!” Ray chuckled and so did Ryan.

“We should go down,” he motioned in the direction of the door, not taking his eyes off of Ray.

“Yeah, we should,” neither of them made a move to go and Ryan’s smile just widened.

“You know, you’re really interesting.”

“I haven’t said much to you,” Ray felt his face heating up, “trust me, once I do you’ll think I’m super dull.”

“I don’t think so. I guess I’ll just have to get to know you and see though,” Ryan grinned and made his way to his own door. He shot Ray one last look and then disappeared. Probably to take a shower. Ray was still standing there, grinning like an idiot and feeling something akin to giddiness rising in his chest. He scoffed at himself and went inside to take his own shower.

He cringed when he looked in the mirror and saw the disgusting state he was in. Drool had stained the corner of his mouth a little, and his dark hair looked like an oil spill. He quickly stripped and hopped into the shower, turning the heat up and washing away the nasty.

~~~~~

It was later in the afternoon, and Michael had finally decided to come out of his room. Ray and Gavin were battling it out in Call of Duty and, from the sound of all the bird noises, Gavin was losing. Michael noticed Ryan sitting in one of the armchairs on his laptop. Well, his laptop was out, but he was mostly watching Ray and Gavin. Mostly Ray. Michael almost lost his jaw when he saw the full fledged smile on Ryan’s face. That didn’t happen very often, and it was usually morbid things that produced it. 

Huh. Michael made his way fully into the living room and collapsed on the couch right next to Gavin where he knew he wouldn’t fit without squashing the guy a bit. Gavin squawked as expected and swatted at him.

“Michael you bloody tosser, get off!” Michael cackled.

“Micoo please!” Ray mocked him and let out a victory whoop when Gavin’s character died.

“That’s not fair, Ryan! You saw Michael being a little sabotager!” Gavin directed his puppy dog eyes at Ryan who looked very disturbed at being yanked into a conversation.

“I was already kicking your ass. Michael just sped up the inevitable.”

“He did interfere with game play,” Ryan interjected.

“Aw, come on Ryan,” Ray pouted, “I thought we were bros!”

“Blows,” Gavin muttered. Ray just rolled his eyes.

“If you’re going to make a joke about oral sex, Gavin, at least do it in taste,” everyone was chuckling, even Ryan. Michael watched the banter unfold with amusement. Gavin was pretty great at making a situation amusing. His and Ray’s dynamic was awesome. It almost made Michael jealous. Almost. 

“Rematch?” Gavin challenged and Ray nodded, “Michael? Can you stop leaning on me at such an awkward angle? I can’t murder Ray with your limbs everywhere.” Michael just rearranged himself so he was half sitting in Gavin’s lap; legs stretched out and back against the armrest.

“This is as good as it gets,” Michael noticed the blush creep up onto Gavin’s face.

“Okay, Michael,” and so their game began.

~~~~

Gavin had finally given up and passed the controller to Michael, who was still making himself at home in Gavin’s lap. Ray kicked his ass slightly less hard and after a few games, the front door opened. Ray paused it and everyone stiffened a bit until they heard Geoff.

“Hey fuckers! Come to the dining room. It’s business time!” Gavin groaned and nudged at Michael to get up.

“Don’t nudge me.”

“You’re sitting on me! I can’t bloody well stand with another human on top of me.”

“I’m comfy though,” Michael wiggled and Gavin felt himself blush a little. This guy was either completely fucking clueless or the biggest tease in history.

“Michael,” Ryan’s stern voice called as he walked passed them, “stop being an ass.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael sighed and got up, smoothing out his clothes. Gavin followed him into the dining room. They all sat around it like they had last night, only this time, tensions weren’t so high.

“So,” Jack spoke up, an easy smile on his face. Gavin wondered how he could seem so damn happy all the time. It was weird. “I want to see how we all do as a team on a mission,” he pulled out a folder with schematics that Gavin didn’t really understand, but the others seemed to, so he pretended to.

“These are to the bank on the other side of town,” Griffon perked up.

“Yep,” he spread them out so everyone could see.

“A bank heist already?” Geoff raised an eyebrow.

“Well, none of you are exactly newbies,” Jack shrugged, “plus it’s just a little local bank, nothing huge, no super fancy security systems.”

“What is our haul expected to be?” Ryan had a look of concentration on his face.

“Eighty grand or so? Maybe more. Whatever fits in the bags,” Jack turned back to the plans. “Ryan and Michael are obviously the muscle. They’ll be the first to go at it and clear out any night guards or anything. They’ll stand guard while Gavin and Geoff grab the stuff from inside. Ray, you’ll be on the roof across from the bank with a sniper and on lookout. Griffon will take the back end and drive the van. I’ll be watching and talking to you all through these,” he tossed some earpieces onto the table.

“Why do I have to drive?” Griffon scrunched her nose.

“Because you’re the best driver.”

“Actually,” Ray piped up, “Gavin’s pretty great at getaways. Real evasive.” Gavin perked up at the sound of his name.

“I am pretty great.”

“Could you keep the whole back under control?” Jack gave him a weary look and Gavin almost felt a twinge of offense, but then remembered how clumsy he was in everyday life. Surprisingly, not an accurate reflection on his gunman skills.

“Yeah, I got it.”

“You can barely walk, how can you hold a whole side?” Michael’s tone was full of contempt, but when Gavin looked up, his gaze was more concerned.

“Eh, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” Michael rolled his eyes, “I don’t need you getting killed. Er, well, none of us need you getting killed, teamwork and all that,” his gaze hit the table and Gavin noticed the way he bit his lip to shut himself up. It was cute.

“Well, if Gavin says he can handle it, I’ll trust him,” Jack continued, “So Griffon is with Geoff on grabbing duty. Get as much as you can and then just book it to the car. Ryan and Michael will follow. Ray, they’ll come get you after that. Sound good?” Everyone nodded and Jack clapped his hands.

“Awesome. This one is less about money and more about dynamics. See how everyone works together, okay?” 

“Gotcha,” Geoff yawned and wrapped an arm around Griffon; “I’m hungry.”

“Me too, man,” Ray rubbed his belly and Gavin rolled his eyes. He swore Ray had permanent munchies.

“We could go out to eat,” Jack suggested, “I know some really great restaurants around town. I can grab Caiti and we can bond and shit.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Ryan spoke up. Gavin’s stomach growled and he instantly switched to Jack’s side.

“There aren’t wanted posters up everywhere. You’ve all done fairly well at keeping yourself inconspicuous. Besides, you can’t just stay cooped up in a house all day. That’s how you go crazy.”

“Too late for Ryan,” Michael commented under his breath and Ryan punched him in the arm playfully.

“I’m not crazy.”

“Do you prefer the term mad?”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Gavin chuckled at the interaction. 

“I say yes to the food,” Geoff piped up. The others soon followed.

“Here’s the address,” Jack scribbled it down on a sheet of paper; “you all can GPS it or follow Geoff, whatever you want. See you guys there?”

“See you, Jack,” Ryan picked up the paper and started to type it in. 

“We really need a car everyone fits in,” Geoff complained.

“I am not driving a van,” Griffon kicked her feet up on the table. Gavin perked up.

“I can get you a car,” he grinned. Ray sighed.

“It’s okay, we’ll get it,” Griffon waved him off.

“Just,” Gavin took a deep breath, “just let me, okay? It’s kind of what I do.”

“He’s just antsy ‘cause he’s been driving our legally acquired quote-un-quote boring car,” Ray rolled his eyes and Geoff shrugged.

“Fuck it. Go ahead, kid. Just be careful.”

Gavin beamed and pushed away from the table. He went back to his room to change into something more night-time than his sleep pants and t-shirt. A blue button down and dark wash jeans would do. He bumped into Michael on the way out of his room.

“Sorry,” he muttered, cringing away from Michael’s wrath, but it never came.

“It’s okay, Gav,” Michael ruffled his hair and Gavin huffed. He’d just fixed that. It was then that he noticed how effing attractive Michael looked. Not that he hadn’t noticed before, but especially now. He was in jeans and a long sleeved black button down. He had the sleeves rolled up and they showcased the tone in his arms perfectly. Gavin just wanted to touch. Like, Jesus fucking Christ when did he turn into a teenage girl that writes poetry about boys muscles? Michael quirked an eyebrow, “You alright there?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Gavin snapped out of it and sped past Michael. 

“Hey, Gav?” Ray called from the stairs. Gavin looked up and rolled his eyes at Ray’s “nice” outfit. The same khaki shorts, just with a polo instead of a graphic t-shirt. Stylish. 

“You rang?” 

“I think I’m gonna ride with Ryan, that okay?”

“Uh, I guess,” Gavin knitted his eyebrows together. Ray didn’t usually make an effort to befriend people. He turned to Michael, “Is your car a four seater then?”

“Nope,” Michael rolled his eyes, “I guess that means I’ll have to ride with you.”

“Oh. Okay.”


	6. Stealing mad cash (and your heart)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeeeeeeeeedback :D  
> So yay for relationships kicking off  
> <3

Jack prided himself on having such a great idea. They occupied the largest booth in the dimly lit local restaurant. Griffon and Geoff were sharing storied from past adventures and with the right amount of greasy food and alcohol; it was shaping up to be a fantastic night. The group had such great chemistry. He was particularly excited when he realized Ryan understood some of his more techy aspects. They started to geek out over different programs and software, which bored the others. He knew so because Gavin oh so tactfully yelled ‘this is boring’ and then proceeded to challenge Michael to an arm wrestling competition (spoiler, he lost) and then drink away his hurt ego. 

Caiti and Griffon were discussing which types of handguns stayed hidden the best in which kinds of purses. It kind of bothered him that Caiti was involved in this kind of life, he didn’t want her hurt, but he was proud of her for learning and being so skilled in self defense. Griffon was a great teacher and it gave him some peace of mind. It got later and everyone but Ryan and Ray got drunker. A nice little pre-heist celebration was always good. Gavin’s face suddenly lit up.

“I want to go steal a car!” He slurred and grabbed Michael’s wrist, “C’mon Michael!”

“Gavin, shut the fuck up,” Geoff frowned and looked around at the other patrons. The music was loud enough they weren’t paying them any attention.

“But Geoff,” he whined, “I want to do something.”

“Then go do it, but don’t make a scene, Jesus.” 

“Okay,” Gavin stage whispered and turned to Michael, “Come with me?”

“You’re drunk,” Michael rolled his eyes, flushed cheeks giving away his own drunkenness. Jack frowned. Gavin shouldn’t be driving. Or stealing. Or really doing anything while he was drunk.

“Yeah, and? We can be, uh, team nice dynamite! Team nice dynamite, Michael!” Gavin gave his arm a tug again and Michael rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, just don’t get us killed,” he followed a squealing Gavin out of the booth.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jack looked to the two of them and then the rest of the group.

“Gavin can handle it,” Ray piped up and stared at his best friend, “Gav, don’t fuck up. I will personally stab you in the dick.”

“Noted,” Gavin saluted and tossed some cash on to the bar, “that should pay for Michael and I, we’ll see you guys back at the house,” he turned but Michael put a hand on his shoulder.

“What the fuck, asshole, I can pay for myself,” he frowned.

“Michael, I don’t care just come on I want to steal cars not argue about tips,” Gavin whined and jerked Michael along until he came with a sigh.

“Whatever. Dick.”

~~~~~~

“What are you going to try and take?” Michael watched Gavin drive. The blue lights from the dash illuminating his face. It was quiet with the radio off.

“Some SUV probably. Not my favorites, but prettier than a van,” Gavin squinted into the darkness and grinned when a car dealership showed up in the distance.

“Are you going to steal from a dealership? Are you fucking stupid?” Michael glared at him.

“Perhaps, but I’m also crafty. How long do you think it takes for the cops to show up?”

“Five minutes,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Then we’ll just have to be quick,” Gavin grinned and pulled into the parking lot. An imposing black SUV was in front of them. “Okay, so you’ll take this piece of shit and high tail it out of here as soon as I start messing with the car. Meet me at that park we passed on the way up here so I can check it for trackers and stuff. They’re probably in the GPS, so I’ll have to get that out. Got it?”

“Uh, okay?” He furrowed his eyebrows. Gavin seemed to have a solid plan, but Michael had no idea if it would work or not in reality. He decided to say fuck it though and follow Gavin’s lead. 

“Are you packing?” 

“No, I didn’t have a plac-“

“Gun’s in the glove box. Have it ready when we get to the park. Try to keep your face hidden and stuff,” Gavin smiled at him and put on some obnoxiously large blue American flag sunglasses and climbed out of the car. “Five minutes, Michael.”

Michael scrambled over the console and hit the gas when Gavin reared back, gun in hand, and smashed out the driver’s side window. He left the man behind against his better judgment and went to the park Gavin was talking about. It was about twenty minutes away and when he parked in the lot attached he tried to calm the little bit of panic. What if Gavin was a stupid shit who couldn’t evade the cops? What if the car was out of gas or some shit? He tried to calm himself down and grabbed the gun from the glove compartment. He checked if it was loaded and took a deep breath. It was about fifteen minutes later when he heard the squeal of tires on the pavement and jumped out of the car, gun at the ready, and watched Gavin fly out of the still running SUV. He could hear sirens in the distance.

“Get in!” he yelled and Michael obeyed. Gavin stuck his head in his and Ray’s old car, running back with nothing. “Just checking for evidence,” Gavin explained and then cocked his gun before firing several shots into the on screen dashboard that housed the GPS.

“What the fuck?!” Michael screeched and clutched the seat when Gavin immediately started spinning out of the lot again.

“Had to break the GPS,” Gavin shrugged and took a corner way too fast that caused Michael to slam his head against the window.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Michael grabbed for his seatbelt and Gavin chuckled.

“Ray almost puked first time too, it’s okay,” he looked in the rearview and smiled, “looks like they’re still at the park.”

“You fucked up this car though,” Michael nodded to the broken window and bullet riddled dash.

“Nah, all easily fixable. I’m the car guy. I got this,” Gavin grinned and took another nauseating turn, followed by a hill that Michael was certain made them catch a little air.

“You’re fucking insane,” Michael rolled his eyes, but the smile wouldn’t leave his face. It’d been a while since he’d done something reckless like this. He and Ryan were always so careful.

“Makes it fun though,” Gavin finally straightened out his course and started back home.

“Yeah,” Michael stared at Gavin’s beaming face still covered by obnoxious glasses, and felt a little tug in his gut. This guy was pretty cool. The rest of the ride was silent, they pulled onto the gravel driveway and Michael noticed that everyone’s cars were here. Gavin killed the engine and Michael put a hand on his before they got out. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Gavin had a tiny smile now, glancing down to where Michael was still touching his hand. 

“Giving me some actual excitement,” Michael started to lean in but he thought better of it and stopped halfway. Gavin was staring at him with wide eyes. They stayed locked like that for a minute. Leaning in halfway and caught in each other’s gazes until a loud slam made both of them jump. Michael looked up to see Geoff coming out of the house, the stern look on his face dissolving when he saw the SUV. Gavin hopped out and Michael followed suit.

“Whoa, I didn’t think you’d actually get anything,” Geoff ran his hand over the shiny paint of the hood. Gavin grinned.

“I always come through Geoffrey.”

“I can see, good job,” Geoff grinned and Michael could practically see Gavin preening. Although he supposed he would be too if THE Geoff Ramsey told him he did a good job. The three of them went back inside and Michael went straight for his bedroom. He needed to process these weird and kinda gross warm feelings he was having and for Gavin no less. The idiot.

~~~~

Ryan liked to analyze situations. He was good at it and it had never failed him. But he couldn’t for the life of him figure out at what point in the night Ray had made his way onto Ryan’s rocking chair and into his lap. The sky was a bit overcast and the two of them were making pictures out of the dark clouds. Ryan thinks it might have happened somewhere between the start of the second joint and Ray getting a little too close to the edge of the balcony for Ryan’s comfort, but he can’t be sure. The man in his arms was shielding him from the slight chill though, and their hushed voices were intimate in a way Ryan hadn’t thought about in ages. He pointed out a cloud that looked a bit like a unicorn to Ray who laughed and told him his eyes were fucked up and then nuzzled Ryan’s neck.

Sleepy and high. That’s all this was from. They lived too dangerous of lives to get attached, but when Ray made a cute little snuffling noise and pulled himself closer to Ryan, he couldn’t help but press a soft kiss into the dark locks in front of him. 

“You’re not scary,” Ray murmured and Ryan chuckled.

“What brings this up?”

“Gavin thought you were scary, so did some of the others and me,” Ray looked up at him, red eyes looking like they could see all the way to his soul, “but you’re not.”

“I kill people, Ray,” Ryan sighed. There was his logic back. Ray didn’t need someone like him in his life. Someone so unstable and destructive.

“So do I,” he protested and Ryan ruffled his hair.

“You do it out of necessity. It gives me a fucked up pleasure. You should be scared of me.”

“Whatever,” Ray scoffed and moved so that he was straddling Ryan instead, burying his head in the bigger man’s chest, “you’re just a big teddy bear. A teddy bear that kills people occasionally.”

“Go to sleep, Ray,” Ryan sighed and rubbed soothing circles in his back. When the breathing evened out and quiet little snores started up, Ryan carried Ray back into his bedroom, tucking him in and leaving for his own bed. He was sure to close the balcony door and groaned when he climbed into the blankets. He’d have to do something about their late night bonding sessions. Ray was getting too close to him. Nobody had been close to him until Michael came along. Michael could handle the psychosis. Ray didn’t deserve it.

~~~~~

The day passed with anticipation for night. Ray played some xbox with Gavin. Michael refused to come out of his room for some reason, which had made Gavin pouty. Michael was his new favorite play-thing. Ryan was working on something and Ray had felt the tension in the air as soon as he woke up in his own bed instead of on the balcony like they usually did when they hung out up there. He didn’t remember anything bad happening, but he had been pretty high, so maybe his memories were tainted with perma-happiness. Regardless, the house was too quiet. Gavin excused himself to back to his bedroom and Ray cringed. He was alone with Ryan now. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Ray winced at how small his voice sounded. Ryan looked up from his laptop.

“No, why?”

“You haven’t said a word to me all day. I thought we were developing a brotastic friendship, man,” Ray tried to chuckle, but it came out stiff.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Ray,” Ryan sighed and closed his laptop. Ray scoffed.

“That’s what this is about? Because I told you I didn’t think you were scary?”

“I’m dangerous,” Ryan frowned and Ray rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I get it. But, news flash, so am I. I didn’t just wake up one day the biggest drug lord in New York. I killed and pilfered and got a reputation,” Ray stood up, “So don’t let this self deprecating bullshit stop what was shaping up to be a kick ass friendship. Honestly I’m insulted that you think I couldn’t take you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ryan stood up too, taking a threatening step towards Ray.

“It means that I never miss. You’d be dead before you could lay a hand on me if I wanted you to be,” Ryan was in his face now, eyes narrowed.

“Are you trying to get me to hurt you? Cause I will just to prove a point.”

“Bring it the fuck on,” Ray spat out and yelped when hands clamped around his throat and he was shoved back into the living room wall.

“Still think I’m a harmless teddy bear?” Ryan’s voice was low and raspy. Ray tried to take a breath to no avail. The heat from Ryan’s hands and body was starting to get to him and the choked moan he let out was completely embarrassing and totally unnecessary. He hoped Ryan didn’t notice, but from the smirk that showed up on his face, he did.

“What do we have here? Ray gets turned on by some manhandling is it? You like this? Putting your life in the hands of a killer? Maybe you’re just a little brat who needs to learn a lesson. You all hide behind your fancy guns and vests, but I kill people. I take their lives in my bare hands and I end it.” He hissed into Ray’s face.

“Ryan,” Ray tried to gasp out. 

“You see, Ray? This is why I can’t be close to you,”

“Bull…..shit,” he wheezed. Feeling his dick harden the more light headed he got. Ryan needed to let go soon. 

“I don’t want to hurt people I like,” Ryan let go all at once and Ray collapsed on the ground, rubbing his throat and gasping for air.

“I told you to stop with this Edward Cullen bullshit. Does it look like I give a fuck if you’re unstable? News flash, we’re all unstable.”

“I don’t-“

“No,” Ray got up and poked Ryan in the chest, “You’re gonna stop and we’re gonna be fine.”

“Okay,” Ryan hung his head and Ray frowned, still rubbing at his throat. 

“Damn right,” he turned on his heel to go upstairs and chill for a minute, maybe jerk off. Stupid Ryan and his stupid violence. Since when was Ray a masochist? Since now apparently. Bullshit.

~~~~

The time rolled around and everyone piled into the new SUV. Gavin drove, Jack navigated from over the speakers, Geoff Griffon and Ryan talked strategy, Michael and Ray sat in the back and goofed around like children. Children loaded up to their necks with dangerous weaponry. Whatever. They reached the bank and Gavin dropped off Michael, Ryan, Geoff, and Griffon. Ray was next across the street and a building which he climbed and set up his sniper gear. Gavin then took himself around to the back. Michael and Ryan waited for Jack’s go and then stormed the place, making quick work of the two guards and walking in the doors (Jack had disabled the alarm) getting the last guard on the inside and then letting Geoff and Griffon get through to the vault.

It was locked of course, but they had some of Jack’s equipment and he took them step by step on how to run it while Michael and Ryan guarded the doors. The vault cracked and Geoff and Griffon started stuffing the bags slung over their shoulder. They finished the last bag and all four of them headed for the back. Gavin had the trunk open, weapon raised. They tossed their stuff in and then got in themselves just before Gavin spun off to fetch Ray. He climbed back down the building and jumped into the car. Cheers went out as they left the bank behind, the ones new to Gavin’s driving quickly silencing and trying not to puke. 

It had gone off without a hitch. Not a single cop. Just three dead guards and at least a hundred grand in cash. It was a real confidence booster even though it was just some local bullshit. They could do this. They could conquer the Austin underground. There hadn’t been a team more perfectly crafted since the mafia. Fucking beautiful. 

~~~~~

Celebratory drinks were had, and Michael was more than a bit drunk when Gavin, also drunk, stumbled into his room.

“Sorry Michael,” he slurred, “thought this was my room.”

“You fucking idiot,” he rolled his eyes, “why can’t you ever find your own room?”

“Maybe I just like yours,” he pouted, “don’t know why you had to get the best one.”

“Finders keepers bitch,” Michael watched Gavin flop face first onto his bed and groaned, “get the fuck up.”

“I’m comfy, Michael.”

“I don’t care, you need to go to sleep.”

“I’m not sleepy,” Gavin had his eyes closed and yawned through his words. It would be cute if it weren’t so damn annoying.

“Jesus fuck.”

“Can I sleep in here, Michael?” 

“You know what, fuck it, I don’t care,” Michael rolled his eyes and slipped under the covers, throwing a pillow at Gavin’s face.

“Thank you lovely little Michael,” Gavin cooed and then moved to get under the covers as well. Michael decided to be a blanket hog. That bitch could use his own bed if he wanted blankets.

“Michael, please,” Gavin whined, “don’t be mean, Michael,” he wrapped his arms around him and tried to pull the covers away, but gave up halfway through and decided to just use Michael for warmth. Gavin cuddled like a fucking octopus, and soon Michael didn’t even need the covers. It was warm in that drunken way. Being wrapped up in Gavin’s arms wasn’t so bad. But if anybody found out he thought that, Michael would fucking gut them.


	7. Make Mistakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyoooooo  
> My inbox would love your giant unprotected comment to come inside it. Kudos too.   
> You guys are great.   
> Life is great.   
> Ever smelled really good laundry soap and just thought about how awesome it is that millions of years of evolution has lead up to you sniffing this cap of blue liquid that you tasted one time to see if it was as glorious as it smelled (spoiler, it wasn't) and isn't that so wonderful that something as mundane as fucking LAUNDRY SOAP can make you happy? My point is: if your life sucks right now, sniff some detergent, feel a tree, nap in some sunshine, take a bath and realize that everything can get better. You just gotta make the most of what you have, and if that's laundry soap, well you're almost in heaven. <3  
> So yeah. Enjoy and stuff.

Ryan was annoyed with himself. He was slouched in his rocking chair on the balcony sipping on a beer and staring into the middle distance. Why was he so bad at being a human? Sure Ray hadn’t taken his words to heart and they had a great time after the heist, but he still tried to push away one of the only people who ever seemed to get him. It WAS Edward Cullen bullshit as Ray had so eloquently put it. Then there was the fact that Ryan had fucking choked him out, and he liked it. Ray had tented and moaned like a little bitch as soon as Ryan started crushing his windpipe. Damn if that wasn’t the hottest thing in the world. Despite growing up to be a serial killer, Ryan had always been a protective person. Protecting people from hurt or sorrow, or himself. The more he mulled over their conversation the more he realized how right Ray was. Ray didn’t need protecting. The guy could take care of himself. It didn’t stop Ryan from wanting to try though. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to say goodbye and try to be a martyr. Maybe for once, Ryan could be selfish. He could have the feisty little drug lord, and if he got to be too much, Ray would put a bullet through him. 

 

~~~~

 

Gavin sighed when the sunlight started encroaching on his sleepy eyelids. His head hurt and he just wanted to lie in bed for the rest of the day. It was so warm and smelled really nice. He burrowed deeper into the covers and snuffled when something tickled his nose. He cracked open one eye and saw a mass of curly red-brown hair in his face. His heart stopped and he waited for Michael to turn around and scream at him, but the soft easy breaths of the other man still signified that he was asleep. Gavin glanced down at their tangled bodies. The covers were thrown haphazardly across their waists. They were both in boxers and their shirts from last night. Gavin’s arm was slung across Michael’s middle, his hand entwined with Michael’s. Their legs were a mess of limbs, and Gavin blushed. He should untangle and let Michael wake up in a good mood instead of finding an octopus clinging to him. That looked impossible though. Michael was a stomach sleeper, so Gavin’s hand was locked with Michael’s which was half buried under the other man. After the worry churned in his gut a little bit longer, he decided fuck it. He’d go back to sleep and wait for Michael to get up. He was comfortable and warm, and, after all, it takes two to cuddle like that.

Michael did wake up a little while later, and Gavin heard his quiet morning curses and opened his eyes for the second time. Michael had flipped onto his back, the arm that used to be locked with Gavin’s hand thrown across his face.

“Morning Gav,” he croaked out.

“Oh, um morning Michael,” Gavin watched as Michael moved the arm out of the way to peer over at him.

“Let’s just not talk about it and blame it on drunkenness right now. I’m too tired to deal with my own thoughts, let alone yours.”

“Okay,” Gavin chewed on his lip for a second, “well I guess I’d better…” he moved to get up and Michael stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to,” Michael was looking up at him, the same awkward confusion written on his face. “I mean, if you don’t want to. I don’t mind.”

“You sure?” Gavin pulled the blanket around himself and sat cross-legged.

“Yeah, no need to run away right? Just some drunken team nice dynamite shenanigans. Nothing to have a panic attack about,” the way Michael was rambling sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than he was Gavin. That was an interesting thought. Gavin had been too worried about having Michael rip his head off he hadn’t even thought to wonder if Michael actually enjoyed it.

“Whatever you say,” Gavin picked at the treads on the covers and smiled, “you’re really warm, Michael.”

“Yeah, well I’m a human, humans have body temperatures dipshit.”

“Someone’s full of the vinegar.”

“I’m just…confused,” Michael crossed his hands behind his head and turned to face Gavin, “I should hate you. You’re loud, obnoxious, rude, and childish,” Gavin’s face fell and he looked down at his lap, “but for some fucking reason I can’t get you out of my head. You make me feel things besides anger and frustration, although you make me feel those frequently. You come into my goddamn room drunk off your ass and ask to sleep in my bed, and I fucking let you! I invite you in and spoon with you for fuck’s sake! I’m supposed to be an asshole, but instead all I want to do is go on bullshit adventures with you and almost get killed. It’s confusing and I want to hate it. I want to hate you, but I can’t,” Michael sat up and glared at Gavin, but there was no real malice behind it.

“Michael…”

“The way you say my fucking name like it’s some fucking coo. You twist it all up and it comes out weird and soft and I should be fucking annoyed. It’s not fair.”

“Shut the fuck up for a second,” Gavin snapped and flinched when Michael did. Gavin wasn’t good with words. He never was, but he was good with actions. Maybe it was too soon, but when you faced death constantly, you learned not to waste your fucking time. If it was a mistake, fuck it. His whole life was a procession of mistakes.

“What-“ Gavin cut Michael off by pressing their lips together, softly at first, but then Michael figured out what was going on and fisted his hands in Gavin’s hair. Gavin hissed at the tiny pricks of pain. Michael was demanding, coercing Gavin’s mouth open and claiming the space there. It was violent and kind of desperate. They both had boozy morning breath, but Michael’s lips were so soft, and Gavin didn’t want to stop kissing him. Michael started to push Gavin back into the pillows, effectively trapping Gavin between his body and the headboard. Michael finally broke away and they panted, sharing oxygen for a minute.

“I’m not a good person,” Michael whispered.

“Neither am I,” Gavin smiled sadly.

“Should work out perfectly then,” Michael leaned in to steal his breath once again.

 

~~~~

 

For Geoff and Griffon, Sunday mornings meant time at the shooting range. It was therapeutic and shit. Geoff popped off some rounds into the center of his last target and went to the cubby over to compare with Griffon. He chuckled when he saw a man in slacks and a rolled up white t-shirt talking to her. She looked annoyed and he knew what the man was saying before he even came up.

“You gotta hold your gun at arm’s length so ya don’t get the breath knocked out or drop it,” the man had a thick southern drawl and had obviously just finished worshipping his Jesus, so now it was time to shoot some guns. And, apparently, teach the women how to as well. 

“I know how to shoot a gun, thanks,” Griffon gave him a tight smile. The man just chuckled and turned away.

“Keep on practicing girl; it’s good that the women are learning to defend themselves.”

“Sexist fucking pig,” Griffon snarled when he left and Geoff put a hand on her shoulder, “I should fucking drop his ass in the middle of a real firefight and see how long he lasts. Fucking bullshit.”

“That guy was a dick, just let it be for now,” he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.

“That’s how pricks like him keep thinking women can’t do shit unless a man teaches them,” Geoff sensed an angry rant coming on and backed away to lean against the wall and listen to her preach in between rounds. Angry Griffon was sexy, and scary. She fired one shot after another into the targets head and Geoff felt himself getting scaroused. It was kind of great, honestly. When Griffon was done, she turned around and chuckled at Geoff’s approving gaze.

“You perv,” she grinned and grabbed his hand, “come on, let’s go. I need to let off some steam.”

“Oh hot damn,” Geoff grinned and rushed her to the car. He definitely won at marriage.

 

~~~~

 

The house was quiet this morning, Ray noted. He padded into the kitchen and grabbed some cereal. Michael and Gavin hadn’t gotten up yet, and he’d taken one look out of the window at Ryan on the balcony and decided he didn’t want any part of that brooding. Geoff and Griffon were out doing couple things he assumed, so it was just him for now. He wondered what the drug scene was like in Austin, maybe he could try Dallas. He and Gav should plan a little trip. Ray hadn’t worked in a few weeks and he was itching for something to do. Maybe if Ryan wasn’t too broody he could take him. 

He really needed to go back to New York at some point to make another appearance. He had a reputation to uphold. He flicked on the TV and tried to find something halfway decent to watch. The local news was talking about the bank robbery and he grinned when there was no evidence pointing to them. Jack knew what he was doing. At first, Ray thought he was just big softy who craved some danger, but the guy had the skills to steal the bills. Jack was supposed to be coming over today to talk about their first really big move. Ray was interested and excited, especially after their successful heist. Sure, it was just a small thing, but a lot of criminals couldn’t even rob a gas station. 

“Ray,” Ryan’s voice startled him and he turned to see the man standing behind him in dark jeans and a leather jacket, black paint around his eyes and a mask in his hand, “I’m going out, tell the others if they ask. I should be back in a few hours.”

“What are you doing?” Ray eyed the mask, “you know it’s daylight right?”

“I just need to get some stuff out of my system, I’ll see you later,” Ryan gave him a curt nod and started for the door.

“Let me come with you,” Ray hopped up and Ryan sighed.

“No.”

“Come on, Rye, I’m bored. I could have your back, let you do your thing and make sure nobody interferes,” Ray smiled hopefully.

“I need to be alone for a bit,” and with that he left. Ray sighed and heard the sound of gravel slinging under tires. He understood of course. Ryan needed alone time to sort through his thoughts. Ray knew Ryan stayed sane through little murders. If he wanted to fuck off and give in to his addiction for a while who was Ray to stop him, but fuck if he was just going to sit around in this house and be bored all day. 

In broad daylight he couldn’t really do anything fun, but he could go to an arcade and fuck around. Maybe he would hit up GameStop for a new game or seven. Jack might want to go to the arcade. Ray was done with this. No more sitting around feeling sorry for himself. He would drown his sorrows in dusty games and pizza. 

 

~~~~

 

Michael wasn’t sure when he went from being a rational adult male to a preteen girl, who had deep and meaningful feelings about boys’ hair, but here he was, sitting with Gavin in his room watching some random show and making gross heart eyes at each other. It was dumb. Gavin was dumb. Gavin was cute too. Fucking brain. 

“Do you want to go to the park?” Gavin paused the TV and stretched, “I’m getting stiff staying in bed all day.”

“Sure,” Michael raised an eyebrow, “what are we gonna do in the park?”

“I dunno. Swing. Be mean to small children. Feed ducks. Smuggle in alcohol like teenagers.”

“Booze seals the deal, what time is it?”

“Uh, two?” Gavin checked his phone and put it back.

“God, we’re gonna get day drunk,” Michael sighed and started rummaging through his drawers to find clothes. “Fuck off and let me get dressed.”

“Whatever,” Gavin rolled his eyes and left. Michael pulled on some jeans and a black hoodie. Not just panty droppingly attractive, but comfortable. One look at his hair in the mirror made him bark out a sarcastic laugh and pull a beanie on to smush them down. He put his glasses and shoes on. Gavin wasn’t outside yet, so he grabbed a poptart from the kitchen and stuffed it in his mouth. The booze cabinet was stocked better than any other area of the house and Michael thought over their options. Vodka was the obvious rout, but in his not-alcoholic opinion whiskey was the best thing to get day drunk on. He mixed it and some Dr. Pepper in an opaque water bottle. Gavin’s door opened and the loser himself walked out. Gavin had gone for some jeans and a beige turtleneck sweater. Michael laughed when he came out and Gavin frowned.

“What’s so funny?”

“Look at us,” Michael motioned between them. 

“What about it?” Gavin was starting to pout a little.

“You look like the goody-two shoes jock and I look like some rebellious skater kid. I just think it’s amusing how different we look,” he shrugged and grabbed the bottle before walking to the door with Gavin.

“Whatever, you’re too cute to be threatening anyway.”

“Excuse me? I am the Mighty Mogar, destroyer of cities. I’m threatening as fuck,” Michael flexed his muscles to exaggerate his point.

“Please, what kind of villain has fluffy curls and dimples,” Gavin teased him playfully and climbed into the driver’s side of the car.

“You just wait,” Michael put his seatbelt on.

“Villains don’t wear seatbelts,” Gavin grinned and Michael flipped him off.

“Put your goddamn seatbelt on. I don’t want to be killed by your dumb body flying through the air,” Michael got a lot of shit for wearing his seatbelt, but shit was important. Plus it really annoyed Ryan when he made the older man wear it. Gavin rolled his eyes and put his seatbelt on.

“Happy?”

“Ecstatic, Gavino,” Michael beamed at him and took a swig out of the bottle. 

 

~~~~

 

Gavin and Michael ended up getting day drunk on the park swings. They were firing off questions at one another and making faces back at the soccer moms that glared at them.

“Favorite color?” Gavin leaned against the chain of the swing and took another swig. Their bottle was almost empty.

“Blue. No, red. Um, rainbows,” Michael kicked at the sand under his feet and held his hand out for the whiskey. “First time you killed someone?”

“Uh,” Gavin looked down at his feet.

“Wait,” Michael blinked at him blearily, “are you a killing virgin?”

“No, I just try not to dwell on them. Sanity and all that.”

“I get it. It’s not exactly the noblest of professions,” Michael grimaced and handed Gavin back the bottle. He took a long pull and shivered. He could feel the whiskey making him antsy. It always made him handsy and fighty. Michael looked really off guard right now, just lazing on the swing. 

“Hey Michael.”

“Yeah, Gav?”

“SURPRISE BITCH,” Gavin launched himself at the other man who laughed and grappled with him in the dirt.

“You sneaky fucker,” Michael slurred and finally got the upper hand, unleashing a flood of tickles. Gavin was wheezing and begging him for mercy. “Nuh-uh, you asked for this you little shit.”

 

~~~~

 

Jack brought Ray home later in the day when the sun was just starting to set. They needed to talk strategy today anyways. He was a bit surprised when Ray had asked him to go to an arcade and screw around for a day. It was nice though. Ray was a cool kid. Jack parked the car just before Gavin came careening in with Michael. Protective instincts flared for a moment before Jack pushed them down. The two got out, obviously drunk, but coming down. They weren’t so bad that they wouldn’t remember the meeting. 

“Hey guys,” Jack waved. Michael waved back, cheeks pink and lips weirdly puffy. Did they get in a fight? Probably.

“Jack! X-Ray!” Gavin yelled and smiled, “Michael and I fed ducks,” Gavin giggled and Jack rethought his ‘not that drunk’ statement. 

“Is this him being really drunk or him being Gavin?” Jack asked Ray who shrugged.

“Bit of both I think.”

They all went inside. Ryan was sitting at the dining table reading a newspaper and smiling to himself. Geoff and Griffon were watching TV, but came over to the dining room when Jack came in.

“Ready to talk strategy?” Jack asked and the others nodded, taking seats around the table. Jack grabbed his laptop out of his backpack and opened it up. “The first step to ruling a city, and then a state, and then a region, is eliminating competition,” Jack started and the others perked up. “Austin currently has two major gangs that are consistently fighting each other. Our goal is to take them out. I have pictures of the high ups in both and locations of hideouts. I think we should take the classic ‘one at a time’ rout, unless you can get two birds with one stone. For now I want to focus on the west side. Ray, Gavin, Michael, and Ryan are gonna take this one,” Geoff and Griffon protested, “you guys are going to try to get the ring leader of the east side, he’s a bit more slippery,” Jack pulled up photos and turned his laptop around, explaining to everyone their jobs. He was feeling giddy and hopeful. If this went as planned, they could have Austin within a month. Easy.


	8. Taking You Out (not to dinner)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter!  
> I love your comments, I read them all and flail.  
> <3

“Coming up on your left,” Ryan’s hushed voiced came in through Ray’s earpiece. The two of them had teamed up to take out the second in command and were now perched on opposite roofs, Ray with a sniper and Ryan with a handgun just in case trouble came. Michael and Gavin were busy distracting underlings close to their HQ. If there was anything Gavin was good at it was being confusing, pair him with a wildcard like Michael and the two of them were like the fire Michael loved so much.

Ray glanced to the other building where Ryan was prepared to slide down the ladder if need be. He looked like some sort of archangel guarding the city. It was frightening and beautiful at the same time, and now was so not the time to digress into Ryan-is-attractive land. Ray took a breath to steady himself and waited for the guy, the leader, to pass through the crosshairs. Half a second, breath, steady, squeeze the trigger. The quiet bang (courtesy of Griffon and her amazing silencers) echoed around the buildings and the guy dropped to the ground.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ryan came in through Ray’s ear while he slid down the building. Ray nodded and did the same. He got to the bottom just as Ryan finished checking the body. 

“Gavin was gonna meet us at the bar a few blocks up,” Ray shouldered his duffle and started in the direction of the bar. 

“I’m impressed,” Ryan had a small smile.

“I told you I never miss,” Ray shrugged.

“Are you just naturally gifted?” 

“No, but after missing a few times and getting the full force of your alive and pissed off target, you learn how to be gifted,” Ray sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was late as fuck and he did not feel like hanging out in a bar. 

“What happened?” Ryan frowned and looked at Ray. His gaze was so heavy and intense, like he actually gave a shit about Ray’s battle scars. 

“I was just getting started, little seventeen year old Ray who could barely hold a gun. I was doing small deals in the shady part of town out of a hoodie pocket, weed and stuff. I was stepping on someone’s turf and they pulled out a gun, so I pulled out my gun, hands shaking like crazy and just started firing. I’d seen movies, it couldn’t be that hard could it? I hit him once, maybe twice. Not in places it would count. He was either feeling merciful or a terrible shot, but he got me right in the shoulder, splintered a little bit of bone and then broke five of my ribs when I was down. I passed out and woke up in the hospital,” Ray shuddered at the memory. He looked over to see something akin to cold composure hiding fury.

“How did the cops not get involved?” 

“They took everything that was left on me, so it just looked like I was a little kid who got caught in the wrong neighborhood. After that I was always careful, and deadly,” Ray looked up at the cheesy neon lights of the bar and sighed.

“I guess misery makes a man,” Ryan reached for him but quickly pulled his hand back. Ray rolled his eyes.

“I’m not going to fucking break, Jesus.”

“It’s not you breaking I’m worried about,” Ryan winced, “I haven’t-I mean, I’m not good with people. Sure I can lure them into traps, that’s part of my job description, but I’m not like Michael. I can’t just flash a smile and win someone over. I know I’m not good, so I’ve managed to keep to myself for the past few years, with the exception of Michael, and I’ve kept my emotions in check. But for some fucking reason, you’ve wormed your way into my head. I can’t get you out and I’m feeling all these-these fucking warm things and I don’t know what to do with them,” Ryan had his hands tangled in his hair and Ray felt a tug at his heartstrings, “I want to find the guy who did that to you and fucking pulverize him,” Ryan laughed bitterly, “I want to motherfucking avenge you. I just want to know why? Why did someone finally get through all these defenses I’ve put up and just make a little home?”

“Ryan,” Ray slowly brought Ryan’s hands down and cradled them to his chest, “calm down,” as if a switch had been flipped, Ryan quieted and sighed, leaning his head on Ray’s. “Just do what you’re instincts tell you. That’s really all people like us have,” his voice was barely a whisper now, afraid to send Ryan into another tirade. Ryan stared at him for a moment before pressing their lips together hesitantly. It was over in a few seconds, but goddamn did it feel like an eternity.

“What was that?” Ray tried not to vibrate out of his skin. He felt like out of all the weird-but-amazing moments in his life so far, this was the best.

“I was following my instincts.”

~~~~

Michael was swearing, Gavin was swerving, and their recently acquired car was getting more bullet riddled by the second.

“Gavin, what the fuck are you doing!? Go to the goddamn lake!” Michael snarled and turned to fire a few rounds.

“We have to distract them! Not get in a bloody ground fight!” Gavin yelled over the fire.

“Target’s been taken out,” Jack’s voice echoed over the car stereo and Michael whooped in victory.

“Now lose these fuckers, Gavin!” Gavin nodded and proceeded to do many many traffic violations. There was still a persistent bastard on their tails though. The good thing about Austin was that even though it was a city, it was still Texas. They turned a corner and Gavin could see the fence of a field up in the distance. He floored it and Michael started yelling again.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU-“they crashed through the fence with some awful metallic screeching and a painful jolt. Gavin ignored the damage and pushed on until they were a good half mile into the field. Gavin jumped out.

“Torch the car!” he grabbed a can from the back seat and doused his side in gasoline. Michael’s face lit up and he did the same. He let Michael light it and then started running for the tree line, the other following close behind. He looked back once they hit the trees and saw flames licking at the sky. The car that had been pursuing them was just at the broken fence now.

“That’s fucking beautiful,” Michael’s eyes were shining and he was grinning from ear to ear, dimples and all. Gavin had to kiss him. It was violent and rushed, but fuck it.

“We have to run,” Gavin broke away and nodded to the car that was rolling up slowly to the fire. They started further into the forest. Gavin pressed on his earpiece to talk to Jack. “Had to torch the car, tell Ray and Ryan it’ll be a minute.”

“Gotcha.”

When the trees broke away to a road, they slowed to a jog, it was taken up by trees on both sides and Gavin started to regret not bringing a jacket.

“I guess we should hitch-hike then?” Gavin held out his hand as cars passed.

“We could just call a cab,” Michael pulled out his phone.

“We have to pick up the R&R connection though. I was thinking we could take one of these cars if they stop,” Gavin watched another car pass.

“Right. Not that I don’t enjoy a good burning, but why did we torch the car?” Michael tucked his hands in his pockets.

“Evidence, Michael. Plus they probably wouldn’t have gotten off our trail otherwise,” another pair of headlights appeared and Gavin flagged the car down. This one actually stopped. A young woman rolled down the window and smiled hesitantly at them.

“Can I help ya’ll?”

“Yeah, we need a ride,” Gavin smiled at her and she blushed a bit.

“Oh, wow, you’re British. Um, I guess I could take you,” she unlocked the doors and Gavin let Michael get in the passenger side while he walked around. 

“Sorry about this, love,” Michael pulled the keys and Gavin pointed his gun at the woman. She screamed as per usual, and got out of the car. Gavin tossed her some cash and replaced her in the driver’s seat. He sped away and held out his hand for a high five, but Michael didn’t reciprocate.

“Aw, boi. Why?” Gavin pouted and Michael rolled his eyes.

“You didn’t have to flirt so much,” he crossed his arms and sank into the seat more.

“Is someone a little jealous?” Gavin teased and laughed when the blush rose on Michael’s face.

“You let her see us too. She’s gonna go to the cops and they’ll look for a British fuck with stupid hair.”

“My hair isn’t stupid, and it was dark. Not like she could get that good of a description,” they came back into the lit up part of town and Gavin looked over to see Michael still sulking. “Come on, Michael, talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know bloody forgive me or something, yeah?”

“Fucking fine you’re forgiven you dumbass,” Michael sighed.

“Harsh, Michael,” Gavin fake pouted and Michael smiled a bit.

“I don’t mean it.”

“I know you don’t,” Gavin grabbed his hand and held it while he drove.

~~~

Griffon wasn’t one for stake-outs. She and Geoff usually just went in guns blazing and ended up getting the guy on a stroke of good luck that had been following them since the beginning of their lives. Jack, however, was definitely one for stake-outs, and so, here they were, hanging out on top of a building in black face paint watching the other building across from them with binoculars. Apparently this guy was slick, but honestly Griffon was just aching for some real action.

Call it a flaw, but she didn’t feel very alive without the working. Geoff seemed at ease, he’d been quiet most of the night. She looked over to her left and scoffed. The only thing her husband was observing was the inside of his eyelids. It was kind of cute actually. All dressed up in his spy clothes and napping against her side. That wasn’t good though, as cute as it was. A sleepy warrior was a bad warrior, and she couldn’t have Geoff getting hurt because he was bored. The place had been quiet, and Griffon thought it would be more effective to just go running in there and knock some heads to get their answers. That or bribery. She preferred the violence, but Jack was the planner in this.

It did feel strange to have someone else planning out her moves. She trusted Jack with their lives though, and was certain his plan would follow through and prove great for all of them. It was just these careful standards that came with a complicated scheme that made her antsy. Her and Geoff would need to go run some errands soon. The boys could use new fancy guns. New fancy guns from Russia. Yeah. She nudged Geoff until he woke up and gave her a scratchy kiss.

“Did anything happen?” he snuffled.

“Nah, let’s just pack up and go home,” she helped him up and they dismounted, climbing into the newly acquired SUV and speeding away. Gavin had picked a good one.

~~~~

Ryan and Ray had been sitting in comfortable silence for the past twenty minutes. Gavin and Michael were going to be here soon after their little delay and they could all go home. Maybe Ryan would sit out on the balcony and smoke with Ray who would somehow make his way into Ryan’s lap and then they could-no. Ray had been cool about the kiss, but maybe that was just him sparing Ryan the awkward embarrassment. What if he reciprocated though? Goddamn. Feelings were confusing. Ryan realized that his frustration must be written on his face, because Ray was staring up at him with a mix of amusement and concern.

“You okay big guy?” he bumped Ryan’s shoulder with his own.

“Just lost in thought,” Ryan sighed and fiddled with the straw in his coke. It seemed a bit suspect to send the two people who didn’t drink into the bar to wait, but whatever nobody had questioned them.

“You do that too much,” Ray slouched down in the booth.

“Do what?”

“Over analyze every situation,” another big eyed glance up at him had Ryan’s heart melting all over again.

“How do you know I’m analyzing? I could have just forgotten to feed my fish.”

“You don’t have a fish, and it’s the way your eyebrows get all gathered up and your mouth gets all pouty. You think something’s wrong, but since we have been completely successful in our endeavor to take out hot shot back there I’m assuming it isn’t heist related.”

“Why do you know me so well? We haven’t even known each other long,” Ryan felt analyzed himself. It was interesting. He’d known Ray was perceptive, but not that perceptive.

“I dunno. I guess I just get you,” Ray shrugged and a little blush started up on his cheeks, “it helps that I watch you like a seventh grade creeper watching his crush play basketball on the playground.”

“Am I?”

“Are you what?”

“Your crush,” Ryan felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth at the childishness of it all.

“You got a problem with it?” Ray wasn’t looking at him now and Ryan grinned.

“Not in the slightest.”

“Oi! Rye-bread, X-Ray!” Gavin’s voice punctured their bubble and echoed above the crowd’s chatter. He poked his head around some people, towing Michael behind him, and beamed when he found them. Ryan felt his jaw stiffen. Leave it to Gavin to fuck something up. “We should get going then.”

“Uh, Gav,” Michael’s voice was weirdly soft to Ryan’s ears, “I think we interrupted a moment.” He looked between the two of them and Gavin’s eyes widened.

“Oh I’m sorry guys,” he backed up, “We’ll just be out in the car,” Gavin gestured behind him and scurried away. Ryan chuckled at how he dragged Michael. Michael was probably getting pissy from all the baby-sitting-unless-wait. Had Gavin been towing him? Or had they been holding hands. Ryan let out a bark of a laugh which startled Ray.

“Sorry,” he apologized through giggles, “It’s just that our lives are turning into a cheesy romance movie,” he turned to Ray who was also sporting a smile.

“I would have to agree. Let’s go, I want to talk about philosophy and shit while we get high-I mean-if you want to,” Ray chewed on his bottom lip and Ryan grabbed his hand.

“I would love nothing more.”

~~~

“I’m so fucking stupid,” Gavin sighed and buckled his seatbelt, “God all those gooey eyes,” he shook his head. Michael rubbed soothing circles into the back of his hand.

“It’s okay, Gav. I’m pretty sure they were gonna confess their heart boners anyway,” Michael shook his head. He knew Ryan was being awfully chummy with Ray, but he didn’t know it was that kind of chummy. The kind he was currently floating around with Gavin in. That had to be the weirdest part about all of this. He should fucking hate Gavin, but instead here he was finding all of the fucker’s little bits of idiocy endearing. It was gross, and kind of nice. It had been a while since Michael had something to care about, since he’d found anything but fire beautiful.

“They are cute though, in that weird intense way,” Gavin smiled as the two guys in question walked out of the bar holding hands. They wore matching expressions of calm happiness. The two of them got in the car and Gavin drove home, whining about having to drive a ‘college bird on a budget’ car. Michael rolled his eyes at Gavin’s car snobbery. He was picky for someone who didn’t even have a license. When they got home, Jack was waiting for them, a huge smile on his face.

“Great job guys. The gang has been thrown into some momentary chaos, so tomorrow we should be able to get the rest. Geoff and Griffon did some recon on the other guys, but didn’t see much. Griffon wants to do some of her own interrogating, which I’m only slightly worried about,” Jack sighed and waved to the dining table, “there’s some information about the guy over there if you feel like taking a look at it, and a list of who is doing what tomorrow. Be sure to get rested and be prepared for a fight. I’ll see you guys later,” he waved at them all and left out the front door, leaving the four of them standing alone. 

Ryan and Ray quickly disappeared upstairs and Michael looked after them with a bit of fondness. It was cool that Ryan was actually having emotions and shit. Michael invited Gavin into his room for some DS and cuddles, an invitation that was enthusiastically accepted, and after the fifth game of Mario in which Gavin had sabotaged them every time, Michael gave up and just started kissing him, because even Gavin couldn’t fuck that up.

Later that night when they were all snuggled together in a big gay sandwich, and Gavin was quietly talking about his life back in England, Michael felt honestly happy. It was something he hadn’t felt in years. Not this untainted easy happiness at least. The kind that only comes with the dark and quiet. Little did he know, Gavin was feeling the same. Two people with nothing left to live for but crime now had just one more reason to step out of the way of a bullet. And fuck if it wasn’t a good one.


	9. Clean Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uh...may have made a diagram to go with Michael and Gavin's plan.  
> It's.....interesting? You can see it at my tumblr if you want. (spoonslicerainbowface)  
> Anyway. Enjoy maybe.  
> Comment <3  
> Kudo<3

“Who’s up for some danger?” Jack shut the door behind him and the guys, who’d been previously slouched in all the chairs of the living room, perked up. Ray paused the movie and Michael nudged Gavin out of a nap.

“What kind of danger?” Michael grinned.

“Geoff and Griffon are taking out the east side guy tonight, and that leaves Austin vulnerable, but the rest of the people in those gangs are going to be scrambling to reorganize. So I need clean up. It’s gonna be lots of blood and sketchy situations. I’ll need two men on each team. One for the East, one for the West, you’ll take most if not all of them out and then we’ll have the city. Sound good?”

“Any preference on how it’s done?” Michael was already going into battle mode.

“Thoroughly.”

“Sweet.”

“When do we leave?” Ray cracked his neck and stood up to stretch.

“Whenever you want, I’ll be monitoring the feed all day, so just check in,” Jack shook his head, he’d almost forgot, “I have some new stuff for you guys too if you want, it’s in the truck. Nothing too fancy, just some army surplus stuff.”

They all wandered out to the truck and started rifling through things. Ray grabbed several more vests and some ammunition. He didn’t really need it, but you could never be too careful. Ryan only grabbed a vest. Gavin and Michael went straight for the grenades. Gavin piled up assault rifles as well. It was interesting how the two of them clung to the most destructive things. When the guys were done, Jack took the rest of it to the back house where they kept all the storage. He wondered why Geoff had never built a big garage out here. Everyone just sort of parked in the front without a system. Maybe that could be his next project.

~~~  
“So, how are we going to split them up?” Gavin glanced around the room to the others.

“Ray and I can take the East,” Ryan spoke up, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Top, well since that’s sorted,” Gavin hopped up and grabbed Michael’s wrist (this was his preferred way of toting the lad) to pull him towards the hall.

“Gavin, what-“ Michael protested.

“We have to make a plan boi! A top secret secret plan to kill the bad guys!” Gavin chuckled at his own childishness and pushed Michael into his own room, “this will be our lair.”

“My room?”

“Our lair, Michael,” Gavin rolled his eyes and left to get something from his own room. He returned with a hand full of colored pencils and a large artist pad. Michael raised an eyebrow.

“You travel with art supplies?”

“Yeah. So?” Gavin quickly tore a page and scribbled down a note. Michael peeked over his should and chuckled. ‘TEAM NICE DYNAMITE TIME DO NOT DISTURB (not boning)’ graced the page. Gavin taped it to the outside of the door and shut it with a dorky smile.

“Did you mature past kindergarten?” Michael chuckled and pulled Gavin into a chaste kiss. The idiot was too cute not to touch.

“Probably not,” he grinned in Michael’s face and backed up to grab the pencils, holding several of them in a death grip, “let’s do this.”

They were not good at making plans. Michael’s was too explosion based, and Gavin’s involved a goddamn ambulance and a hot dog costume. It soon devolved into ‘who can draw the better dick’ contests, and then to a slow make-out session. Gavin broke them apart to inhale and sighed.

“We should actually make a plan, don’t want to die and all that,” Michael agreed and stole one last kiss before turning to the discarded paper and pencils. 

“I still think we should burn the place down,” Michael started sketching out the hideout.

“We can do that. Get some petrol bombs and such. I think we should gun down some of them, you never know who can make it out of a fire,” he started making a list of supplies.

“Shotguns or Assault Rifles?” Michael started embracing him inner Ryan and plotted the weak points.

“Either one is fine, I’ll take a rifle,” Gavin poked his tongue out from between his lips and Michael couldn’t help but smile at the idiot. Even when he was planning the deaths of several people he looked so sweet and attractive. He really wished his brain would get out of this foggy honeymoon phase thing. He wanted to see the real Gavin, not this sugar coated version his consciousness emphasized. The rawness was missing, maybe it would come soon. He’d just have to deal with sweet Gavin until then.

~~~~~

“You look so dapper, husband,” Griffon chuckled and fixed Geoff’s tie. She was in a modest blue cocktail dress, big sunglasses, and a flouncy hat. They looked like your average rich couple going out for brunch at the lake. It’s good, because it’s what they’re going for. The guy they’re trying to hit is real big into appearances. Name a snobby past time and he is part of it. A just riveting game of polo is going on at a lake manor, and there will be tiny sandwiches served with watered down screwdrivers and an upturned nose.

“I would have to say the same about you,” Geoff wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. 

“Do you have the stuff?” 

“Yep,” Geoff pulled the clear vial out of his coat pocket and frowned.

“When did we go from blowing heads off to slipping poison in drinks? It’s so anti-climactic.”

“When we decided to get involved with something that needs to be kept a secret,” she sighed and put her pistol into her clutch bag.

“Oh yeah.”

“Of all the gang like activities this guy could participate in, it had to be the boring high-class one. What happened to good old fashioned casino parties?” Griffon whined and checked the time on her watch. “We should go. Don’t want to be late, might miss the first shot or whatever the fuck it is they do in polo.”

“It’s just not a party without someone getting their face stabbed off,” Geoff took her hand and they went on their way. Their very anti-climactic way. Griffon loved Jack, but if he didn’t show her some real danger, she was going to go crazy.

~~~

“Is that him?” Griffon nudged Geoff who stopped contemplating his drink and looked up.

“Smarmy guy in the white suit?”

 

“Yeah.”

“Yep. Do you want to distract him with your womanly charms?” Geoff patted his coat pocket to make sure the vial was still there.

“I’ll distract him with my womanly fist,” he could hear her eyes rolling behind her big sunglasses.

“Let’s just go,” Geoff stood up and fixed his moustache a little before planting on a sleazy grin and walking towards the guy, Richard was his name. What a dick. Heh. Griffon kept a reasonable distance from him and sauntered over to Dick. He looked away from his friends and appraised her, a sick smile twisting up on his face. She flashed a smile at him and reached out to touch his arm, probably asking about his suit or something. Griffon was good at flirting. Geoff would be jealous if he wasn’t literally about to poison the guy touching her. 

He walked close enough to them to hear the conversation and rolled his eyes. The guy had a fake British accent. Gavin would break this guy’s jaw if he heard it. Geoff checked to make sure everyone was distracted by his wife and poured the poison out from under his sleeve. He was glad Griffon had made them take some sleight of hand instructions from that creepy magician in Bulgaria. 

“Griff, what are you doing, babe,” he slid into the conversation and wrapped an arm around her waist protectively, glaring at smarmy suit dick stupid face guy.

“Just having a little fun,” she laughed airily and the guy frowned.

“You two know each other?” his fake accent was even more annoying than Gavin’s real one.

“Not really,” Geoff shrugged, “we’re just married and stuff.”

“You should keep a better handle on your lady,” the dick smirked and reached back for his drink, “keep her at the bridge table. People might get the wrong impression,” he took a sip and Geoff felt Griffon’s biceps clenching and unclenching where he was holding her. Nothing like a sexist asshole to get her going.

“I’ll remember that, thanks,” Geoff grinned and pulled Griffon away and over to the course. They needed to stay just a bit longer and then they could leave before he keeled over.

~~~~

“I think we should gun them all down,” Ray was slouched down in his rocking chair and playing with Ryan’s fingers. Ryan was in his own chair staring out across the balcony. They were waiting for sunset to get going, it wasn’t too far away and they still didn’t have a solid plan.

“How would we get out?” 

“No idea,” Ray sighed and ran his thumb over each of Ryan’s nails. Ryan had nice hands; they were calloused from fighting but still had a weird softness to them.

“We could go full Hitler and toss a gas bomb in there.”

“Do we have those?” Ray wrinkled his nose, “I doubt they’d be big enough.”

“Should we go for stealth then?” Ryan laced their fingers together.

“I could shoot them from the roof while you go wild on the stragglers down below,” Ray leaned his head against Ryan’s shoulder and looked up. He could really only see Ryan’s jaw, he had some light blonde scruff starting to grow there.

“That could work, especially if we get Geoff and Griffon with us. They can be foot soldiers as well. Geoff told me he and Griffon are itching for some actual fighting.”

“What about Michael and Gavin? Don’t they need backup?” 

“I caught a snippet of their conversation, and I don’t think anyone is going to understand their convoluted plan but them. I’m pretty sure Gavin made diagrams.”

“You think they’ll be okay?” Ray trusted Michael fine, but Gavin tended to get a bit extravagant with his ideas.

“Yeah, even if they fail, both of them are really good at getting away. Michael’s the king of running off.”

“Then it’s settled. If the fighting gets really intense I’ll come down to the ground with you guys.”

“I love it when you talk strategy to me,” Ryan chuckled and Ray rolled his eyes.

“Lame.”

“You’re lame.”

“Oh man, burn. What am I gonna do with my lif-“ Ryan cut him off with a kiss and Ray grinned into it. Kissing Ryan was nice. 

~~~~

Michael knew that he had some wires crossed somewhere. He knew that he shouldn’t get so giddy and excited just by dousing a building with gasoline. Gavin had parked the car and they’d walked to the hideout. It was one of those ‘not sure if it’s a business or a house’ buildings and it was currently covered in flammable material, several sticky bombs, and one Gavin on the roof blocking doors. The thing about being in a fairly unpopulated area was that there was nobody to pay any mind to two guys prepping a building for fiery explosions. Michael emptied the last of his gas can and reached into his bag to grab the Molotov cocktails. Gavin climbed down from the roof and grabbed his own bottle of terror. They stepped back and Michael grinned at Gavin before pulling him into a heated kiss.

“On three,” Gavin licked his lips, “one, two, THREE,” they started beaming the bottles through the upper glass windows and onto the sides of the building. It lit up pretty instantaneously. Michael felt the familiar stirring of complete exhilaration in his stomach. He detonated the bombs and threw his last bottle. Guy’s had started pouring out of doors like ants from a smashed hill. Fortunately, they walked right into the wall of flame that had started licking up the sides of the building. Gavin was already shooting off his rifle like a lunatic. It didn’t look like he was trying to hit anyone, but the flaming bodies jerked around with the force of bullets still. The initial explosion sent up a whole new slew of flames and brought the second story down a bit. 

Michael grabbed his own gun and started glacking. Fuck that guy. And that one. Especially that one. Sirens echoed in the distance and the streams of people had all but stopped, so Michael grabbed Gavin’s hand and pulled him back down the road to where their car was running and waiting.

Gavin jumped in the car with a whoop and tore off onto the streets and out of the area. Michael was fucking ecstatic. Gavin looked pretty great too. His cheeks were ruddy and he swerved them around the streets in some pattern only he understood. Michael smirked and took off his seatbelt.

“Michael what are you-“ Gavin cut himself off with a yelp and a jerk of the car when Michael leaned over and yanked his pants open. A good burn always made him horny, and it seemed like Gavin had the same situation.

“Shut up and drive,” Michael chuckled and pulled Gavin’s dick out, stroking it a few times for good measure before swallowing him down and bobbing his head.

“Michael! Michael you cheeky little bastard!” Gavin groaned and grinded up into Michael’s slackened throat. Michael responded with a long lick up to the tip and back down. Gavin’s knuckles were white with the grip he had on the steering wheel. Eventually he was just babbling, occasionally jerking the car around in a way that would make normal people fear for their lives. Michael just kept working him over until he came with a drawn out curse and a slap to the wheel that made the horn cry out.

“Bleeding hell, Michael,” Gavin panted and Michael sat back up to put his seatbelt back on.

~~~~ 

The bodies in front the door were starting to pile up and Ray chuckled to himself. The guys weren’t very smart. They all had the same confused look around before he shot them down. He could just see Ryan chilling a bit farther down, he looked terribly bored. It was unfortunate really. Geoff and Griffon would be there any minute and they wouldn’t even be walking into any action. Another guy joined the pile and Ray could practically see Ryan sigh. It wouldn’t be too long before they decided to rush outwards, looking for the sniper. Two guys came out this time and he nailed the one. The other covered his head and drew his gun, shooting at the rooftops aimlessly. Ray would laugh if he weren’t busy blending in. He saw Ryan perk up and start towards the scene.

More guys flooded outside and Ray picked them off as best as he could without giving away his position. He watched Ryan plow through them with scary precision. His methods were much bloodier than Ray’s. A knife to the neck, a shot to the face, it was showmanship, honestly. The blood would linger in his clothes and under his nails, and damn if that didn’t make Ray just the slightest bit tingly. He lined up another shot and helped thin out the crowd Ryan was currently slaughtering. Really there was no other word to describe it. Loading out magazine after magazine into the crowd in front of him all with a manic grin and twinkling eyes. Ryan looked honestly insane, just like Michael always joked. 

Three more guys downed by the sniper. They were starting to shoot in his general direction, which meant he should probably move, but there couldn’t be that many of them left. He could also see Geoff and Griffon coming up in the jaguar. This fight was over. The bloodied bodies in the street were testament to the power Jack had pulled together. Geoff and Griffon showed up, and cleaned house, as per usual. Ray heard sirens in the distance and started down the roof. Ryan caught his eye and started for the car with him while Geoff and Griffon finished up.

Ryan was covered in blood, and when he beamed at Ray, white teeth shining through bloodied lips, Ray wondered if he’d always been this kinky, or if Ryan just happened to bring it out in him.

~~~

Ray was bent dangerously over the edge of the balcony, arching his neck up into Ryan’s biting kisses. Blood was smeared on his arms around finger shaped bruises and across his lips. Ryan wrapped a hand around his neck and pushed him farther over the balcony, popping the buttons on Ray’s button up and continuing his cruel path. 

“Rye, fuck, please,” Ray choked out and bucked up against him.

“Please what,” he punctuated the statement with a tightening of his hands on the boy’s neck.

“Anything,” Ray wheezed and clutched at Ryan’s hair, “anything you want, just give me something.”

Ryan shoved him back, letting go of his neck. Ray yelped and nearly toppled over the edge before Ryan caught him and yanked him back to his lips. Ray opened up so nicely to him.

“You beg like a slut,” Ryan hissed and Ray groaned, “You’re a fucking psychopath,” Ryan chuckled and delved a hand into Ray’s pants. The man under him jerked and gripped his hair even tighter. “Does my killing people get you all hot and bothered?” Ryan sped up his pace, “Do you want to be the one at the end of that fury, pet? I can make you scream,” he whispered and Ray cried out, spilling all over Ryan’s hand and slumping against the railing. Ryan pulled his hand out and wiped it across Ray’s shirt. “Go clean yourself up,” he commanded and Ray nodded, pulling him into a sweet kiss before stumbling inside.

Ryan watched after him and adjusted himself. That man would be the death of him.


	10. Olive Juice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The accidental Christmas hiatus is broken.  
> Please like me.  
> Kudo <3  
> Comment <3

“Should we talk about it?” Michael paused the TV and stopped petting Gavin’s hair in favor of looking down at the boy wrapped around him in bed.

“Nah,” Gavin nuzzled further into him.

“Kay,” Michael pressed play and yawned. It’d been a long day. He’d killed people, blew up a building, and blew his maybe-boyfriend on the car ride home. Gavin was grateful and had enthusiastically reciprocated as soon as they got home. Michael was wondering what was going on though. He didn’t usually hang around people. People were dangerous things that crawled inside of your heart and then ripped it out when they left. Michael liked his heart where it was, thank you. If he glanced down at Gavin now, he looked like a warm kitten with a swollen milk belly, but Michael knew better than that. He’d only seen the small amount of charm Gavin had pulled with that girl a few weeks ago. That cocky smile and sweet drawl could lure anybody in. What would he gain from Michael though?

Who knew what went on inside the head of someone like Gavin. It hadn’t been long, but Michael could already feel how smitten he was. Gavin could ask him to burn down the whole city and he’d do it, just to see the flames reflecting off the white of Gavin’s beaming smile. Michael was a string around Gavin’s finger and it was terrifying. He was already too knotted up to just leave, he didn’t even want to, and being someone who spent their entire life running, it made him queasy.

~~~~

“What’s the plan?” Geoff looked away from the fire pit and took another swig of beer.

“El Paso and then San Antonio,” Jack closed the back door behind him and handed Caiti her drink. She took it with a smile and a kiss on the cheek.

“What’s there?” Griffon was whittling away on a something that looked like an owl.

“El Paso has a large gang with a smart leader. Take him and a few others out, they might as well be toddlers with sticks. San Antonio has the big guns. It’ll be risky. That’s where most of the people who deal with the Mexicans like to hang out. Close enough to the border to be convenient, but not close enough to be suspicious. Once we get that, we have Texas, strictly organizationally speaking. Imagine it Geoff,” Jack’s eyes glimmered, “We could take over the country. Nobody could get past us. Think about the money, the power. We’d have to expand, of course, but－”

“Jack,” Geoff frowned, “We said Texas and maybe some surrounding places. Griff and I don’t need this exposure. We can work the state for a few decades and retire, that was the goal. You’re trying to make a mafia and I don’t like it.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to be a part of this anymore,” Jack’s eyes darkened and Geoff set his bottle down. If Jack wanted to fight, they’d fight.

“I’m saying I think you should check your priorities,” Geoff glared at him and saw Griffon set her things down as well.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Jack’s voice grew. 

“Boys, please,” Caiti pulled on Jack’s arm to get him to relax.

“Hold on, honey, I just want to know why Geoff is suddenly wimping out,” Jack growled.

“Listen here you conniving shit,” Geoff got in Jack’s face, “We’re friends, and I’m not in the business of burning my contacts, but if you don’t back up, I don’t have a problem with disassembling this whole task force. You have all of our connections and practically own everywhere we own, which is a fuck lot. You can branch out through Ray and the rest of them. You can intimidate businesses and take over a goddamn corporation if you want, but we are not a mafia. I don’t want to do this until I die, Jack. I want to get sick of this life and retire to some shitty cabin in the woods with my wife. I highly doubt the other people you’ve recruited want anything different. We’re in it to get out of it. If you throw us into something like this we’ll all be dead by tomorrow,” Geoff spat out the last words, poking Jack’s chest.

“We’re great, Geoff, have you seen what we’ve done?” 

“It’s nothing compared to the guys in New York. You ever dealt with the real mafia, Jack?” Geoff hissed out and Jack shook his head, “Well we have. I’d rather not be sent home to my loved ones as a liquefied bag of corpse. We may be the big kids in the sandbox, but they reign over the goddamn desert.”

Geoff sat back down, Jack looked like he was still simmering, but listening to what Geoff had to say.

“El Paso, San Antonio, and then maintain?” Jack frowned, probably bemoaning the smallness of the plan.

“Sounds perfect,” Geoff picked up his bottle again and Griffon went back to her working. “Ray can build his business, Ryan and Michael can be your muscle, Gav could get you all the money in the world, and Griff and I will back you. Just don’t get so power hungry. I know you want everything. I want it too, but I want to live to eighty more,” Jack nodded and sunk back in his chair, grabbing Caiti’s hand for comfort. Geoff sighed and stared at the fire. A little power was never enough and he knew it firsthand. He liked Jack, maybe even loved the guy, he was one of the best friends Geoff had had in a while, but he loved Griffon more, and if he had to get rid of Jack to keep the two of them together and safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

~~~

Geoff had made breakfast for the crew, and Ray was fucking jazzed. Oh yes. Jazzed. He hadn’t had home cooked pancakes or bacon in ages. He hated cooking and he wouldn’t let Gavin near the kitchen for fear of the eternal blazing house fire. They were all sitting around the dining table like some weird homicidal family eating and joking around. Ryan was leaning back in his chair, clean plate in front of him, rubbing his belly and groaning.

“Fuck, I ate too much,” he pouted and Ray laughed. Ryan had to have eaten at least seven pancakes complete with a syrup river and how much bacon. If he developed diabetes and heart disease in one day, Ray wouldn’t be surprised.

“Poor Ryan, is your little tummy sore,” Ray cooed at him and Ryan shot him a withering look. Gavin made an exaggerated gagging noise and Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Please Gavin, you and Michael are way grosser than Ray and I.”

“Nuh-uh!” Gavin squawked indignantly and turned to Ray for help.

“Sorry dude, you two are pretty vomit inducing what with all the radiating gayness and stuff.”

“X-Ray how dare you!” Gavin fake pouted and turned to Michael with a mischievous smirk, “Michael and I are the straightest, right boi?” Michael looked up from his plate with a confused look, face stuffed with pancakes, he swallowed, syrup on his lips and dribbling down his chin.

“What?” 

“Ray says he and Ryan are less of a gay sandwich than us.”

“Oh,” Michael touched his face, wrinkled his nose at the stickiness, and reached for a napkin. 

“It’s okay boi,” Gavin stopped him, “I got it,” Gavin took Michael’s mouth in a vigorous kiss. 

“My eyes!” Ray cried out and Ryan chuckled, wincing and rubbing his tummy soon after. Gavin pulled away with a grin and Michael had an I’m-annoyed-with-you-because-you-interrupted-pancakes-but-I-forgive-you-because-you’re-cute look on his face. 

“Sorry, love, thought I’d clean up the mess, guess I just made it worse,” Gavin wiped his face off and turned to Ray, “So maybe we’re gayer,” he shrugged.

“I’m not sure if I won or not,” Ray frowned.

“I think we all lost,” Geoff piped up and rolled his eyes, “you all are toddlers.”

“Daddy Geoff,” Gavin chuckled.

“Only Griffon gets to call me that,” he smirked and everyone else whined.

“As if you’re the Dom,” Ryan snorted and Griffon cackled, accepting his weak high five and kissed a pouty Geoff on the cheek.

“Okay, enough sex talk,” Jack caught their attention, “Our next group hit is going to be big and scary, so I’m going to take a few weeks to get a coherent plan together. There’s a few people and places I need Michael or Ryan to hit and get some intimidation going. I’ll give both of you more information. Ray, I want you to get out around here and get more into the drug scene than you have, you can go and do some deals back in New York if you want. Gavin, do whatever it is Gavins do,” he finished up and nodded to himself.

“Where’s our next hit?” Ryan asked.

“El Paso.”

“Cool,” he grit out and sighed, “I need a nap and an insulin shot,” he got up from the table, taking care of his dishes and heading for his room. Ray frowned after him. Ryan’s stomach must have really been bugging him. Self-inflicted wounds were always the worst.

“I’m gonna go rub Rye’s tummy, Gav, I want to talk to you later today about going back to New York,” Gavin rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Use protection.”

“For tummy rubbing?”

“No for fucking,” Gavin took another bite of bacon, “Jesus, X-Ray.”

Ray made a face at Gavin and cleaned up his own plate, climbing the stairs to Ryan’s room. He opened the door quietly and crept into the room. Ryan was sprawled across his bed, hand on his stomach and arm across his face. He grunted when Ray came in.

“Hey big guy,” Ray came and sat on the bed, rubbing Ryan’s stomach and watching for distress, “you okay?”

“I’m fine, just had too much too fast. My body isn’t used to so much sugar so early.”

“The great Ryan Haywood taken out by a tummy ache,” Ray mourned.

“Hey, I can still kick your ass.”

“As if, you couldn’t beat a Barbie doll in this condition.”

“I’m offended,” Ryan made grabby hands at Ray who sidled himself up next to the man.

“Poor Ryan, a tummy ache and a heart ache.”

“If you don’t quit being a sarcastic asshole I’m going to squish you to death,” Ryan kissed him softly, moving down his jaw.

“I’m shaking in my boots,” Ray chuckled and then squealed when Ryan bit down and rolled over on top of him with all his weight, “Rye, please,” Ray laughed and tried to unpin his arms.

“Nope, you deserve this,” Ryan buried his face in Ray’s neck, nipping at it in between kisses. 

“Can’t breathe,” Ray choked out between giggles and moans.

“I’m just gonna make myself a nice little home here,” Ryan waited until Ray stopped struggling to look up at him.

“You’re mean,” Ray flopped his head back.

“I’m a villain, I’m supposed to be mean,” Ryan shrugged and pulled Ray back against his side.

“You’re not a true villain until you’ve stolen a poor innocent damsel’s virtue and then punched a baby in the face.”

“You can be my damsel,” Ryan smiled, eyes closed.

“Nah, see my virtue’s already been corrupted.”

“I just fuck you on the balcony and we can pretend. You’ll fulfill your dream of being a Disney princess and I’ll fulfill my dream of fucking you on the balcony.” Ray barked out a laugh and swatted Ryan playfully.

“Still have to punch a baby in the face.”

“Do calves count?” Ryan peeked through one eye and Ray felt the confusion on his face.

“Why did you punch a baby cow?”

“The real question is why did I put its mother in a hole.”

“What the fuck?”

“Hey I was a weird kid on a farm in Georgia with nothing better to do than dig holes and put cows in them. Don’t worry, I don’t trap cows anymore, just people.”

“Do you have a torture room where you keep all your victims?” Ray laughed.

“Oh yes,” Ryan grinned, “Maybe I’ll take you there sometime and tie you up.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, man,” Ray tried to mask the twinge of arousal with a sarcastic overlay.

“That would be a sight though. You in the middle of a room tied naked to a chair and totally at my mercy.”

“Ryan…” Ray whined and buried his face in the man’s shoulder.

“It would be like role play except with an actual psychopath.”

~~~

Later in the evening, Ray was playing Destiny and Gavin was playing Pokémon on his DS. Ryan and Michael had gone out to do their first intimidation mission, so the house was quieter than usual.

“Do you want to go back to New York with me for a few days?” Ray asked Gavin, pausing so he could grab a drink from the kitchen.

“Sure, are you sure you can survive away from Ryan for that long,” Gavin teased and Ray rolled his eyes.

“Ha ha funny. You’ll be crying for ‘Micoo’ before we ever get on the plane.”

“Please, I don’t need Michael all the time,” Gavin laughed, but it was tense.

“You seemed troubled, Gavino, what’s up?” Ray unpaused and continued.

“Nothing, I just think that I’m lying when I say that and I don’t like it. Michael makes me feel alive and I don’t want him to leave and then go back to whatever I was before,” it was said with such an even tone, Ray assumed Gavin was doing his robotic ‘I have no emotions’ thing.

“What makes you think he’ll leave?”

“Human nature,” Gavin shrugged and shut his DS, stretching out and getting up to retrieve a snack.

“Well I think he’s wrapped around your little finger,” Ray called.

“Why do you say that?” Gavin poked his head out of the pantry.

“Dude dotes over you, it’s gross really,” Ray swore when the remote battery died and switched it out.

“Ryan looks like he’d murder someone if they hurt you, so that’s going for you.”

“That and kinky sex.”

“Ray! I didn’t need to know that!” Gavin covered his ears and returned with his bag of chips.

“Oh please, you don’t even bother with trying to hide all the hickeys Michael gives you,” Gavin rubbed his neck self-consciously.

“Shut up.”

~~~

“Guess who brought home pizza bitches!” Michael busted through the door and was greeted with an armful of Gavin.

“Is it my lovely little boi?”

“You are correct,” Michael chuckled and kissed his probably-boyfriend.

“How did the deal go?” Ray asked Ryan from the living room.

“Shitty. Turns out the bad-cop/bad-cop routine doesn’t work very well,” he sighed.

“Yeah, Ryan and I are good for murder, but not so much negotiation. We’re both too mean,” Michael set the pizza on the coffee table and grabbed a slice.

“Maybe you guys should take Gavin,” Ray spoke through his own pizza, “He can be good cop, I’ve seen him do it.”

“I can be bad cop,” Gavin frowned.

“The one time he tried it he panicked and I quote,” Ray got up and assumed a face that mimicked a panicking Gavin, “’Oi! I’ll uh…I’ll break this bloody vase! Yeah, precious family heirloom, right? N-not anymore.’ then he nudged a vase off of a stand and tried to look tough before kicking over the stand like a toddler and giving up.”

Michael laughed and Gavin glared at Ray. “Did not.”

“You so did,” Ray chuckled and Michael pulled Gavin over to him and ruffled his hair with greasy pizza fingers.

“It’s okay, boi, you can be my good cop. Just don’t break any vases. They’ll all run for their lives.”

“Michael please,” Gavin whined and resigned himself to pouting against Michael, which was fine with the man in question. Ryan and Ray started talking about Destiny and Michael chimed in every once in a while. It was getting late, and Gavin was starting to nod off against him. He shook the man awake and bid the R&R connection goodnight before pulling Gavin to bed.

“Michael,” Gavin stage whispered once they were all snuggled in bed.

“What?” Michael whispered back.

“Make out with me?”

“You’ll fall asleep,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“Will not,” Gavin rolled over to face Michael.

“Will too.” Gavin just pressed their lips together anyways and shifted so he was leaning over Michael, deepening the kiss and gaining the upper hand. Fuck it, Michael thought, if Gavin wanted a late-night grope session who was he to stop him.

~~~

Geoff and Griffon were packing to go to Russia. Griffon was excited to be doing some real work again. She was a jack of all trades, but smuggling really was her favorite. Geoff was re-reading his Russian language book, brows furrowed.

“Fucking Russian is so weird. Why can’t they just use the normal alphabet?” He complained and tossed the book down.

“You should complain to Putin,” Griffon pulled some clothes out of her drawer and stuffed them in the already full suitcase. 

“I’m so going to,” Geoff came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“You should pack,” she smiled when he started kissing the back of his neck.

“Don’t wanna,” he ran his hands up her sides to cup her boobs and she turned around to pull him into a kiss. He opened up for her and she took full advantage of him.

“Don’t you want to be good for me, husband?” 

“Not if it means packing,” she put a hand on his chest and shoved him down onto the bed to straddle him.

“I think you’ll do what I tell you,” she whispered in his ear.

“What makes you think that,” the smile was apparent in his voice and she ran her hand down his body until she got to what she wanted.

“Because you love me,” she popped the button on his jeans, “and because I know where the cock rings are.”

“Oh yeah,” Geoff’s chuckle was cut off by a moan and Griffon smiled. Geoff dominate her? As if.


	11. Farewell Faithful Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't looked at this chapter in months. I have no idea if it's good or not, but it's all I got.
> 
> (read this in a dramatic 16th century ballad sort of voice)  
> Friends! Travelers! I come with explanation for my absence. It is with heavy heart that I tell you faithful crewmen that I have abandoned ship. Yes! I am swimming in the ocean of fangirl tears searching for a new home for which to lay my weary heart to rest. The S.S. Mavin has been swept away by the waves of OTPoseidon himself. And so here is where I leave you and your pleasant company for good. I toss to you my last and soaked bits of parchment in the form of this, the final chapter I have and ever will write for this vessel. I leave my work unfinished, my cannons unpolished and stuck in alternate universes. For abandoning you, I apologize. Will I ever write again? Mayhaps when another ship takes pity on me and swaddles me in its lovely sails, but until then, farewell! *exit pursued by a bear*

Ray and Gavin spent their time in New York being actually productive, which was surprising to say the least. Ray was walking extra tall again, suited and masked up. It was nice to feel the respect again. He and Gavin had done several drops and even convinced a major contact to set up a runner from Austin across the South. Ray was walking the streets with heavy pockets and a light heart. The trip had been a success, but it wasn’t over yet. Ray had one last meeting with one of his most unpredictable allies. Needless to say, they weren’t very happy about their main supplier disappearing out of the state. Ray looked over at Gavin who nodded at him. Gavin looked like an actual business partner now, wearing a suit and everything. It was a big change from the slouching and t-shirts. He still had the obnoxious glasses though. 

Ray pushed open the door and gave a tense smile to the people already sitting before remembering his mask and nodding at them instead.

“Brownman,” a brown haired, young charmer acknowledged him with a flash of teeth and motioned for him to sit. Ray took the head of the table, Gavin at his right, and noticed how charmer’s eyes tightened a bit. The imposing form of his ally, Millennium, walked in the door and all the sitting men stood at attention. Ray rolled his eyes behind his mask.

“You’re in my seat,” Millennium gave him a tight lipped smile and Ray felt his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. He was always head of the table, what with him being head bitch in charge and everything.

“I guess you’ll have to find another,” Gavin’s tone was even. The atmosphere was pregnant with tension, Ray noticed Gavin had kept a hand on his holster the whole time. Millennium’s face got progressively red, then purple, and finally returned to a normal state before he sat down at the opposite end. His lackeys immediately planted themselves down again and busied themselves with files and things. Charmer handed over a file one of them gave him and Ray opened it.

“That’s the contract we signed at the beginning of this treaty,” Charmer stated the obvious and Ray looked up from the document.

“I’m familiar with it,” he frowned.

“Mr. Millennium feels that aspects of the contract have been ignored and violated, he requests an explanation and repentance,” Charmer was obviously some sketch lawyer Mil had hired to fuck Ray over. 

“Repentance?” Gavin scoffed, “what for?” Ray watched Mil’s face start to change color again.

“It clearly states in the contract that the two businesses be allied and do consistent transactions. The recent disappearance of Brownman has ignored the two main points and therefore, voids the treaty.”

“Treaty?” Ray put his big man voice on and Gavin subtly drew his gun under the table, “This isn’t a fucking treaty. This is a contract that says you sell my shit and I let you exist. I think you’ve gotten some ideas in that big purple head of yours, Mil. What are you giving me right now, actually? Convince me I gain something from letting you live and I won’t blow your fucking brains out for even daring to come up to me over a bullshit contract infringement and trying to fuck me over. Ten seconds. Go,” Ray crossed his arms and Millennium stood up from his seat, pointing a sausage finger at them and hissing out his words.

“You listen here, Brownman. I don’t give a fuck about your little threats. You need me and I know it. I will not sit here and be fucked over by some kid in a mask. You will compensate us for breaking the contract.”

The thing about being the youngest drug lord to ever achieve Ray’s status, you didn’t exactly like being told what to do. Ray felt a cold fury wash over him at the blatant disrespect. 

“I need you?” Ray stood up, smoothing out his suit and turning to Gavin, “I need him?”

 

“Don’t even play that game,” Mil was seething by now and Ray scoffed.  
“I’m not playing a game. I’ve already won. Vav,” Gavin stood and the sound of a gun clicking filled the air, “show him just how much I need him,” Ray tore the contract in half just as Gavin sent a shot straight into Mil’s knee. He went down howling and the interns scattered for the door, but Gavin nailed them each, getting Charmer right in his smug face. Ray walked over to where Mil was rolling on the ground and cursing. “Oh look, seems the contract is void,” he sprinkled the shreds of paper onto Mil’s face, “kill him, Vav,” Ray picked up his briefcase, “and by the way, the ruler sits at the head of the table, not a fucking underling,” he sneered and the last shot from Gavin’s gun cut off Millennium’s angry gurgle.

“Got a car down in the lot,” Gavin tucked his gun away and lead Ray out of the office, “jet is waiting on the strip.”

“You’re the best partner, Vav.”

“Thanks X-Ray.”

~~~~

“Fucking jackpot,” Griffon hissed, her breath puffing out in the cold air. Geoff echoed her sentiments and started packing up the weapons stock into his bag. There was a rustle behind her and she turned to fire several shots into the intruder. He fell just like all the others had and she turned back to the stash.

“Pry open those crates, babe,” Geoff tossed her a crowbar and she went over to the stacks and pulled the lids off of them. There were body suits, bombs, night gear, even a few drugs. She scooped them all up and put them in her own bags. They could get a huge haul out of this room alone. Not to mention the bounty from the rivals of the armory they’d infiltrated. It was fun to run smuggling trips like this. They had another stop in China after this, but then they’d be going home. She hoped that the heat would start up in Austin by then and she wouldn’t have to go chasing these thrills anymore. Geoff wanted to move to a cabin in the mountains when all this was over, Griffon supported that dream one hundred percent, she even shared it, but not now. They were still too deep in the game. She knew she’d get sick of it eventually, most did, but now? Now she just felt invincible and high on the power.

“We should fuck off,” Geoff grabbed her hand, a shiny new shotgun at the ready in his grasp.

“I’ll drive,” she shouldered her bag and pulled out an assault rifle for the way back to the car and accepted a searing kiss from Geoff before taking the lead.

~~~

Michael was bored out of his fucking mind right now. He’d played through all the games at their disposal, didn’t feel like going out to get new ones, nothing was on TV, Ryan was busy working out his frustrations about Ray being gone on the innocent population, and to top it all off, he couldn’t even jerk off without thinking about Gavin. That just made him miss Gavin and didn’t do anything to alleviate the boredom. He could go do some little job he supposed. Maybe do a drug drop for Ray or pant a bug for Jack, but yet another problem was the shitty, rainy weather that made him not want to leave the dry comfort of the living room.

Today was fucking bullshit. Michael made his official decision on the state of the day. Geoff and Griffon had been gone for the past two weeks, Gavin and Ray only a little shorter. Good news was the lads would return tomorrow, bad news was that today was still bullshit. He thought Texas was supposed to be hot and dry, not wet and obnoxious. Granted it normally was hot and dry, just not on this particular bullshit day. Michael whined to himself and finally turned off the TV, giving up on channel surfing. He wasn’t like Ryan, he couldn’t just go out and stab someone and feel all in control and powerful again. The aforementioned bullshit rain would make it near impossible to burn anything.

Maybe his brain would leak out of his ears into the couch cushions and finally let him escape from this fucking monotony. God, life without Gavin around was bullshit. That thought in itself was bullshit. The whole goddamn world was bullshit for making him give a shit about something. He was fine with his running and his burning and his surliness, but then Gavin had to come in. Bullshit. Michael was not about to go on some fucking inner soliloquy about love lifting the veil of drudgery and making everything nice and fluffy, because that was bullshit. It was hard not to wax lyrical about the guy though, even the fucking weather turned to shit when he left.

At least Ryan was having a hard time too. If Ryan was moping and having feelings, it was definitely okay for Michael to. Ryan had cracked around the eighth day without Ray. They’d just been sitting in the living room when Ryan looked up from his laptop, a small smile on his face, to say something. He stopped mid sentence and the expression on his face dropped dramatically before he let out a string of curse words, slammed a door, came down with his mask in hand, and disappeared for the night.

Jack hadn’t been around to give them anything productive. He and Ryan could take up a bounty he supposed, and they’d done one, but a splitting a thousand between them didn’t seem like such a great haul anymore after what they’d been doing. It was fucking bullshit. All of it. Fuck this. Michael got up from the couch huffily and went to the medicine cabinet. Some Nyquil and a shot would cure the boredom. He ingested his liver-fucking cocktail and stomped to his room, intent on passing out until Gavin got home and made the bullshit go away.

~~~

When he was woken from his coma, it was with the dark blue hue of too fucking early in the morning illuminating the room. He stiffened for a minute before familiar stupid hair tickled at his chin and Gavin’s quiet voice reached his ears.

“Hello, Michael,” his boy kissed the underside of his jaw and moved up to his lips. Michael pulled him in for more and chuckled.

“You taste like airplane,” Michael pulled the body back to him when Gavin receded self-consciously.

“I missed you too, git,” he could hear the eye roll in Gavin’s voice and pulled the man in for another kiss.

“I did miss you, like fucking crazy. What brings you here so early?” Michael ran his hands under Gavin’s shirt, touching the tanned skin he hadn’t been privileged with feeling for the past several days.

“Meeting got cut short, Ray and I booked it home,” Gavin shrugged and nosed his way into the crook of Michael’s neck.

“Cut short as in someone got got?”

“Yeah,” Gavin yawned against him and Michael kissed the feathery locks tickling his face.

“As much as I want to sex you right now,” Michael pulled Gavin closer, “I am fucking tired as fuck. So I will sex you when I wake up. Take your pants off, they’re making the sleepy cuddles uncomfortable,” he whined and Gavin chuckled, pressing little nibbling kisses to the base of his throat.

“I’m fine with that; I actually want to shower all the plane off me before I sleep anyway. I’ll be right back,” Michael aimed for Gavin’s lips and caught his nose in a kiss instead. He laughed it off and slumped back into his pillows while Gavin slid out of his grip to practice proper hygiene.

~~~

It was possibly one of the best days of his entire life, even better than the day he discovered kerosene, when Michael woke up to a beautiful boy riding him so deeply and slowly he thought he would burst within the first five seconds. Gavin had his head thrown back and mouth hanging open. A thin sheen of sweat illuminated his skin in the morning light while the subtly defined muscles in his abs and shoulders worked, using Michael like a tool. 

“Morning, love,” Gavin gasped out and continued his dirty grind. Michael grabbed his hips and tried to fuck up into the body above him but was stopped by a hand slapping down on his chest and holding him there, “Mmmm, not today love. I’m in control,” Gavin whispered and leaned down to nibble on his ear and down his neck. Michael moaned when teeth sank in and lips and tongue soothed the offended skin. Gavin moved on to his collar bone to leave more evidence.

“Gav, please,” Michael hissed and tangled his hands in Gavin’s hair.

“I’ll give you what you want Michael,” He pulled Michael’s hands out of his hair and pinned them above their heads. Michael tested the restraint and shuddered when his arms didn’t even budge. Gavin chuckled and plundered his mouth while he fucked himself faster until he was just panting into Michael’s mouth. Michael’s head tossed back and forth. It was so hot, so much overheated skin and sweat and throbbing marks where Gavin was trailing kisses across his body, over his nipples, reducing the man under him into a cursing, whimpering mess.

Gavin was bouncing in earnest now, strangled cries escaping his throat as he came closer and closer. Michael wasn’t very far behind, the heat in his belly had spread across his body, he felt his whole body stiffen and came with an echoing ‘fuck’. Gavin let out his own litany and spilled onto both of them, flushed face falling back into the crook of Michael’s neck. It was too hot now. Michael tried to make words, but his breath was still stuck outside of his lungs.

“I fucking love you,” Michael wrapped his now free arms around the man and buried his face in the feathery hair.

“Love you too,” Gavin murmured. They fell silent, both trying to recapture core human breathing abilities.

~~~

When Ryan and Ray emerged from their sex den, it was just turning noon. A shouted expletive from Michael’s room suggested that couple had made up for lost time as well. Ryan chuckled and ruffled Ray’s hair. The boy looked so happy and sated. Ryan was starving after that exertion, and Jack wanted the two of them to squeeze some information out of some poor sap. Ray would probably jump his bones right afterwards if the pattern of him finding Ryan’s…condition…sexy. It was an interesting endeavor nonetheless.

“So what’s the deal with this guy?” Ray spoke through a mouthful of toast, “is he staying alive?”

“Jack didn’t say,” Ryan grabbed some left over pizza and ate his super healthy breakfast.

“Which means he’s a dead man,” Ray chuckled and took his toast into the living room. He switched on the TV and changed the channel to some cartoon.

“I suppose that’s true,” Ryan grinned and moved Ray’s legs to sit down, replacing them in his lap.

“We should at least try to get the information cleanly,” Ray licked some jam off of his finger. Ryan nodded and they fell into comfortable silence, the mindless cartoons on the TV filling the otherwise silent house. Michael and Gavin came out for food later, Michael sporting some impressive hickeys and blushing a deep crimson when Ryan pointed them out. The two never drifted more than an arm’s length away from each other. When they had a surplus of food and booze, they retired back to Michael’s room. Ryan couldn’t blame them; if he and Ray didn’t have stuff to do they’d probably spend the day smoking and fornicating. It was nature.

~~~

Jack had gotten the guy to one of their warehouses, and the man was currently looking very disgruntled at being bound to a chair in the middle of a dimly lit warehouse. Ryan would laugh at the clichéness of the situation, but he had his game face on. Ray looked severely underdressed to him, only in his board shorts and a tee, guns slung across his hip. 

“We gonna get this fucking thing over with?” the guy frowned at them and looked Ray over. “The fuck is this? You send a kid to an interrogation?”

“What’s your name?” Ray’s voice was clear, but not threatening. Ryan frowned back at the man and crossed his arms, hanging back to let Ray work. His hands were itching to hurt, but they’d discussed this.

“None of your business,” the guy rolled his eyes and stared at Ray, he wasn’t afraid. The fool.

“Actually I think it’s very much our business,” Ray walked around him slowly, “seeing as your business affects ours.”

“Why do you even want my fucking name?” the guy wasn’t even giving up a name, no way would he give up actual useful information.

“I’d like to call you by it,” Ray shrugged and the guy rolled his eyes again.

“Fucking Rodney, Jesus kid, you happy? Wanna play dress up and have tea time? What are you even doing here? Let the big kids play.” 

“Ryan, he’s not being very nice to me,” Ray pouted at Ryan with fake hurt in his eyes.

“Oh dear, are you all right,” Ryan mocked the tone of an upset mother.

“I’ll get over it,” Ray shrugged and walked to stand in front of the man again.

“So, Rodney, what do you know about El Paso?”

“It’s in Texas,” the guy deadpanned and this time Ryan rolled his eyes.

“You know what the fuck I mean,” Ray sighed and softened his posture, “How many people are involved with their organization, what kind of firepower do they have access to?”

“I don’t know,” the guy had the nerve to look bored.

“See I think you do,” Ray crossed his arms, “seeing as you run drugs for them across cities, which I don’t appreciate by the way.”

“Even if I did know anything I wouldn’t tell you shit,” Rodney scoffed, “you’re just a kid, what do you want with a gang that size?”

“For fucks sake, I’m not a kid,” Ray threw his hands up and leaned in, “look, I’m trying to give you an out. Either you can tell me what you know and die nice and fast with a bullet in your brain, or I can sic Ryan here on you and you can die as a puddle.” The guy stiffened at this, eyes narrowing. 

“You’re bluffing,” he looked over at Ryan, “what’s that guy gonna do, lecture me about Aristotle? He doesn’t even have a fucking gun.”

“He doesn’t need a gun,” Ray sighed and cracked his neck, “one last try, what do you know about El Paso?”

“Nothing,” the guy smirked and leaned back in his chair. Ray shrugged.

“Whatever, Rye?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Make him tell the truth,” Ray pulled up his own chair out of the splash zone and Ryan pulled on his gloves with an audible snap.

“You gonna ask me questions or check my prostate?” the guy snorted at his own joke.

“I’m actually going to torture you until I get what I want and then murder you for pleasure,” Ryan grinned toothily. Ray shuddered and watched intently.

“I’m not saying shit.”

“You will,” Ryan rolled his shoulders and hit the guy square in the face. A sick crunch signified the breaking of a nose.

“What the fuck?!” Rodney spit blood out of his mouth and glared at Ryan.

“What do you know about El Paso?”

“Nothing.” Another punch, this one to the gut. The guy groaned and gripped the handles of his chair. 

“Where do they stash their weapons?”

“Why the fuck do you want to know?”

“Wrong answer,” Ryan wrapped his hands around Rodney’s neck, pushing out a gurgled choke from the man’s mouth. Ray sighed airily from the other side of the room and Ryan chuckled. The little shit was getting off on this.

“How come you get to ask all the questions?” Rodney managed to squeeze the accusation out of his constricted throat.

“How attached to your fingers are you?” Ryan mused and ran a hand over the digits in question.

“Oh, threatening,” Rodney tried for sarcastic, but it was twinged with fear. He was starting to doubt how important that loyalty cash was. Ryan hadn’t even had his fun yet. He wrapped a hand around the man’s pinky. He yanked it back and to the side violently and Rodney cussed at the top of his lungs.

“This little piggy went to market,” Ryan grinned and grabbed another digit, “this little piggy,” he snapped it too, “stayed the fuck home,” Rodney was jerking against his bonds now.

“Stop!” he shouted and Ryan cackled.

“Hear that, babe?” he turned to Ray who was watching with hooded eyes, “He wants me to stop,” another broken finger. Ray grinned from ear to ear. Ryan turned back to his victim, “What do you know about El Paso?”

“I’m just an underling!” Snap. 

“Looks like this hand is unusable, Rodney. You should probably go to the hospital,” Ryan tutted and turned to the other one. “Where are they located in the city?”

“Never been there,” Rodney panted out and Ryan snapped two this time.

“I’m running out of fingers, do you really want to know what comes next?”

“I’m not a fucking nark,” two more fingers.

“I wonder if protecting a gang’s secrets is worth an eye or two,” Ryan smirked and moved his gloved hand to the man’s face, making sure to grind his nose in the process. He was just about to dig in when Rodney cracked.

“Fine! Please, I-I’ll tell you everything I know, just get your hands off me, please!” Ryan pouted and backed up.

“That’s not as fun, but it’ll have to do. Spill it, asshole.”

~~

Ryan peeled his bloodstained gloves off and handed Ray a match. He looked back at the broken, bruised, and bloody eyeless form of what used to be Rodney. The body’s clothes were as soaked with blood as they were gasoline.

“I don’t have any lighter fluid cause I’m not Michael, but the body will burn all the same, be a dear and light it for me,” Ray shivered and obeyed. He hadn’t taken his dark eyes off Ryan for the past few hours they’d been there. It wasn’t until the putrid smell of burning flesh started filling the building that they left, Ray plastered to Ryan’s side. He attacked the man’s mouth as soon as they got in the car.

“Fuck me?”

“In the car?” Ryan moved his lips down Ray’s neck.

“Yeah,” Ray tangled his hands in Ryan’s hair.

“Gotta drive away from the evidence first,” Ryan pulled away reluctantly and drove off. He looked over at Ray and let out a tiny gasp. The boy was gazing at him with hooded eyes and palming himself over his shorts. That was the moment that Ryan decided speed limits were definitely just speed suggestions.

 

Being fucked in the back seat of Ryan’s car was pretty great in Ray’s humble opinion. The side of his face was smeared against the window, the fist in his hair holding him against the cold glass. Ryan had Ray’s hands bound behind his back with his belt. The unfair bastard, was fully clothed and pressed along Ray’s naked form, practically using his neck as a chew toy. He chuckled when Ray moaned at a particularly vicious bite to his shoulder. 

“Rye-fuck-please, there’s some lube in my pants pocket,” Ray felt the rumble go through Ryan’s chest and whimpered when the hand in his hair twisted.

“Anticipating a fuck you kinky slut?” Ryan drawled and reached down to pull the bottle from where Ray’s pants were lying on the floorboard.

“I had a hunch,” he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth when he heard the snick of the bottle’s cap. 

“I find your behavior positively whorish,” Ryan pushed his face harder against the window and went straight for two fingers. Ray hissed and let out a low groan.

“You’re one to criticize virtue,” he panted while the fingers stretched him and prodded at sensitive places that made him seek out the friction he couldn’t reach.

“Is that snark I hear?” Ryan had that silky and predatory smirk curling around his words. Ray could see it in the faint reflection of the window.

“It’s truth,” he heard the sound of a zipper and tried to push back when the fingers left him.

“I don’t think you should get testy with the serial killer about to put his cock in you. Seems a little dangerous,” Ryan waited for Ray to open his mouth for a retort before shoving in and cutting his words off into a keen. Ray tried to get some leverage, but Ryan knocked Ray’s knees out from under him and curled a hand around his hip that would surly leave a nice purple bruise. Ray realized how helpless he was when Ryan started thrusting. Without arms to brace himself and the hand still in his hair, each one smashed his face up against the glass. 

“You can’t hurt me,” Ray taunted the man behind him, trying to maintain dignity as well as one could while having their senses assaulted.

“Oh can’t I?” Ryan buried his cock deep inside him with a violent thrust that had Ray wondering if the side of his face would be bruised. “I think I can do whatever I want to, considering you can’t move.” Ray tried to squirm away, tried to prove Ryan wrong and also get him to bend to his rhythm. He cried out when Ryan jerked him back by the hair until Ray was sitting with his back pressed to Ryan’s front. The hand in his hair released and wrapped around his throat instead. Ryan started fucking him in earnest now, each thrust pushing air out of his lungs. Ray moaned and the other hand gripped his jaw, pushing his head back against Ryan’s shoulder, while the one around his neck tightened. A good pain flared up under the fingers pressing into the sides of his face.

“Oh God, Ryan, please-“ the hand pinched his face even harder, ceasing anymore words.

“Shut up, slut,” the hand around his neck finally cut off his air. Each thrust got more violent, made Ray more light headed, brought him closer and closer to the edge. God he hadn’t even been touched, and now he couldn’t breathe, could only squirm on Ryan’s cock and get the consciousness fucked out of him. “That’s it, you look so pretty when you’re gagging for it. I love a good choke, of course normally I’m not fucking my victims senseless before I kill them, but it’s always so beautiful to see the struggle. Are you lightheaded darling? Going to pass out on me?”

Ryan’s words wrapped around his clouded brain and Ray swore he saw stars when he came. The man behind him just thrust faster, never relenting his hands. The feelings blanketed his brain in a downy fluff and he felt himself melting into Ryan, his body was giving up. He felt the vague sensation of cum splashing into him and the rumbling growl that must have come from Ryan before giving in to the happy darkness.

It felt like several minutes, but was probably only a few seconds before Ray opened his eyes and curled into the man holding him so gently.

“Lost you for a minute there,” Ryan murmured and kissed his temple. Ray just hummed and flexed his newly unbound arms. He wrapped himself around Ryan and breathed deeply. “Are you okay?”

“Fucking perfect, shut up you martyr,” Ray could only manage a whisper, his throat still tender from abuse.

“I love you quite a lot,” Ryan kissed his hair and Ray chuckled.

“I love you too you kinky bastard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks.


End file.
